Since his appointment in November 2010, Jim Obazee, who was sacked on
Monday, 9th of January by President Muhammadu Buhari, has never showed
any discomfort with controversy, as his past life has been brought to
the fore.
Jim Obazee, fired as executive secretary of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), is a man of controversies.
He has been accused of many things, including s*xual harassment and insubordination...
As reported by The Cable, in 2015, he was re-appointed as the FRC
executive secretary for another term of four years, which will have
elapsed in 2018.
But he had a frosty relationship with the minister of industry, trade
and investment, who had directed him to suspend the law, but he refused.
ACCUSED OF S*XUAL HARASSMENT BY HIS PA
Obazee was accused of s*xual harassment by one Abimbola Yakubu, his
personal assistant of three years, in 2013. But he denied the
allegation.
In a letter to the board of the FRC, Yakubu alleged that Obazee had
repeatedly threatened to sack her if she did not accede to his amorous
gestures.
“For the period of years that I worked with him, I have always been
closing as late as 10pm and sometimes beyond. I have been very loyal,
committed and dedicated to duty. I have never for one day shown any sign
of insubordination. Early this year, I noticed the Executive
Secretary’s attitude changed towards me,” she wrote.
“I met with him on several occasions, asking him what I have done wrong
but he would not say anything rather, he would yell and scream at me
saying all manner of unprintable words like: ‘when I am done with you,
you will cry’; ‘when I am done with you, you will hang yourself’. So I
withdrew and kept to myself. He continued in this attitude towards me,
not relating with me and giving my subordinates my job to do (the things
I should be doing).
“I close very late at night as a civil
servant, not because we really have much work to do, but that’s when he
finds it most convenient to talk to me about his love for me. He makes
sure everyone has closed and we are left alone in the office to make his
demands. I am grateful to God for the kind of husband I married who is very understanding.
“Besides, there is no s*xual move or plea he made that I did not tell my
husband, from the very beginning of the advances. So, my husband is
very much aware of the goings on but, he trusts me. Even when I told the
Executive Secretary that my husband is aware of his moves he tells me
it is not trust, that there is no man who will allow his wife go through
such since all men are jealous. He then warned me sternly not to ever
mention goings on the office with my husband.
“We have had to travel around the country together to places like,
Calabar, Uyo, Enugu, Ibadan, Ijebu-Ode, Abuja and Minna. These were
occasions he would have had his way had God not helped me, if I had not
been determined to stand firm and if my husband was not solidly behind
me. All of the time when we ought to retire back to our hotel rooms
he would call me to either come to his room if we are in the same hotel
or he would call to tell me he was coming to my room. Other times
when we stay in different hotels, like when we are in Abuja, he would
call me sometimes very late at night to tell me he was on his way to my
hotel.”
She added that Obazee later transferred her to a corner office in
Kaduna, where she would “suffer”, and that he eventually sacked her.
Despite the allegations, Obazee was not probed. He strongly denied them,
saying he sacked Yakubu because she had a history of poor performance
at work.
RECOMMENDED THE SACK OF SANUSI
The sack of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
governor, in February 2014, is perhaps, one of the most controversial
actions of the FRCN under Obazee.
Prior to his sack, Sanusi had made weighty allegations against the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
He had alleged that billions of dollars accruable to the federation were
being diverted by persons in the management of the Nigeria National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
And in the heat of the storm which followed his allegations, Jonathan
relying on a recommendation of the FRCN, which accused Sanusi of
financial recklessness, sacked him.
After his sack, the FRCN began to probe Sanusi, but he shunned several
invitations of the council. He later sued the council for defamation of
character.
SUSPENDED PETERSIDE
In October 2015, the FRCN under Obazee suspended Atedo Peterside as the
chairman of Stanbic IBTC. The council cited infractions in the 2013-14
financial statements of the bank as the reason for its decision.
It directed the bank to restate and to re-issue its 2013-14 financial statements. It also imposed a fine of N1bn on the bank.
Besides Peterside, Sola David-Borha, group managing director, Stanbic’s
chief finance officer and the audit committee chairman were also
suspended.
But in December 2016, the FRCN lifted the suspension on the management of the bank.
HIS ACTIONS MADE BABE ADEBOYE STEP DOWN AS RCCG GENERAL OVERSEER
Late 2016, the FRCN directed not-for-profit organisations — including
churches and mosques — to comply with a corporate governance code
stipulating a term of 20 years for heads of such entities.
It was by this provision that Enoch Adeboye, who had spent over 20 years
as the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG),
named Joshua Obayemi to head the Nigeria church.
Two days after Adeboye stepped down, and in the heat of a caustic
controversy, Buhari fired Obazee and approved the reconstitution of the
board.
In a statement afterwards, Constance Ikokwu, media aide of Enelamah,
said the law had also been suspended in order to allow for a review.
“The Corporate Governance Code issued by the Financial Reporting Council
of Nigerian has been suspended pending a detailed review, extensive
consultation with stakeholders and reconstitution of the board of the
FRC,” she said.