By HENRY OKOKNKWO
Abuja based lawyer, Ezinwa B. Ukoha, has dragged the Federal Government before Federal High Court sitting in the Federal Capital Territory, for allegedly breaching the provisions of National Pension Commission (NPC) Act in the replacement of the removed Director General, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu Amazu.
Joined in the suit, No FHC/ABJ/ CS/ 530/ 2017, are the President, Acting-President, Attorney-General of the Federation, the Senate President, the Senate and the Clerk to the National Assembly, the plaintiff citing the NPC’s Act 2014, sought the court’s determination to the questions arising from the Originating Summons, which bothered on the replacement of the removed Director General Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu from Southeast Geo-political Zone with Funsho Doherty from the South-West as the substantive Director General of National Pension Commission.
Barr Ukoha deposed to a 22-paragraph affidavit to support the Originating Summons. In paragraph 11, he stated, “ That I have carefully read the National Pension Commission Act 2014 and I have noted particularly the provisions of Section 20 (1) and Section 21(1) and (2) of the Act with respect to the appointment and removal of the Director General of the Commission. Copy of the said Act is herein delivered and marked as Exhibit A.
Paragraph 12, says, “ That Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, who comes from the Southeast Geo-political zone was the Director General of the National Pension Commission before she was removed from office by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, when she had served the nation as the Director General for barely 2 years.
According to paragraph 13, “ That the provision of Section 21 (2) of the National Pension Commission Act 2014 provides that in the event of a vacancy, the President shall appoint a replacement from the geo-political zone of the immediate past member that vacated office to complete the remaining tenure”.