Stakeholders commend Tinubu over dissolution of boards of MDAs, call for probe of National Theatre management

The Concerned Stakeholders of National Theatre has commended President Bola Tinubu over the dissolution of Management and Boards of Federal Ministries, Agencies, and Parastatals.

The president, on Friday, through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) had also announced that the disbandment would affect all political appointments made by the former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

While reiterating its call for the suspension and investigation of the General Manager of National Theatre, Prof. Sunny Ododo, over alleged corruption, administrative misconduct and misappropriation of funds of the parastatal, the group also urged the president to probe the on-going renovation work at the National Theatre by the CBN and Bankers’ committee and the shady representation of the National Theatre by the Technical Director of the parastatal, Mr Abiodun Abe on the committee.

According to its Spokesman, the management of the parastatal has looted the artefacts and has perpetrated series of corruption using the renovation work of the edifice as bait.

Since the handing over of the National Theatre to the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee in July, 2020, it alleged, Prof Ododo led management has been on looting spree of funds, selling assets and historic artefacts of the parastatal.

The group in a statement stated, “We, the Concerned Stakeholders commend the dissolution of the boards of federal government MDAs and parastatal by President Bola Tinubu. This is a step in the right direction.

We also want the president to investigate the rot and corruption in government Agencies and parastatals especially the National Theatre.

Since the Federal Government under former President Muhammadu Buhari handed over the National Theatre to the CBN and the Bankers’ committee in 2020 for renovation works, the historic edifice has retrogressed both in assets, welfare of its workforce and in its management.

Under the guise of relocating machineries and artefacts to pave the way for the reconstruction work, Prof Ododo and Mr Abiodun Abe who represented the parastatal at the Bankers’ Committee connived with the Committee to dispose of all the valuable items including artefacts through a fake auctioneer he personally contracted.

Since he came on board, we have heard allegations of embezzlement and administrative misconduct levelled against the General Manager, Prof Sunny Ododo by workers of the parastatal.

We have also seen and read in the news and online news platforms series of petitions written against the management on how they have looted the artefacts and mismanaged the funds of the National Theatre while the erstwhile Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed feigned ignorance of the wrongdoings.

We are also witness to how RATTAWU dragged the General Manager, Prof Ododo to the Arbitration Court in Abuja over misappropriation of the funds and administrative misconduct.

The court is yet to decide on the case.

It come across to us as a surprise that while the case is still ongoing, the Former Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, despite the volume of glaring evidences against Prof Ododo and Abiodun Abe failed to act on the matter.

There are allegations of how the GM, Professor Ododo conceded the sales of valuable assets of the parastatal including 200kva generator, 1500 metres steel pipes of 8inch thickness, looting of the central workshop to an auctioneer couple with the sales of heavy duty machines at the engineering section and several allegations currently being investigated by the ICPC.

Presently, the National Theatre has become a shadow of itself and urgently in need of government intervention by way of probing the activities, alleged loot and illegal sales of the assets of the parastatal.

Therefore we are appealing to President Tinubu to probe into the activities of management of National Theatre, the alleged sales of FESTAC ’77 artefacts and assets of the parastatal by Prof Sunny Ododo and Mr Abiodun Abe and the Bankers’ Committee for their roles in the on-going renovation at the parastatal.

This, the president owes all Nigerians, particularly the staff of the National Theatre, to safe the historical monument from imminent ruin.”

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