The Senate Committee on Sports and Youth Development, yesterday, rejected Mr. Soji Eniade as the Director General of the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre (CLTC), a parastatal in the Presidency under the supervision of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Development.
The Committee said it was unfair for the Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, to appoint Eniade when there is an Acting Director General, Oluremi Sola-Phillips, who hails from Lagos State.
The Senate Committee on Sports made this known yesterday when the management of CLTC was at the Senate to defend its 2022 budget proposal.
When it was the turn of the Centre to defend its budget, the committee had called for the Director General to begin the budget defence, Eniade stood up as Director-General of the Centre instead of Sola-Phillips.
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Members of the Committee expressed surprise on account that they didn’t know him.
He was said to have informed them that he was appointed to the position two days ago, adding that though he was the Director General, the Budget would be defended by the Acting Director-General. This submission led to a question and answer session.
Following further questions, Eniade said he hails from Oyo State.
Chairman of the Senate Committee, Sen. Obinna Ogba, recalled that the minister had previously eased out two heads of parastatals under the ministry and replaced them.
Sen. Obinna said it was wrong and amounted to abuse of office for Shola-Philips to be bypassed and replaced with someone from the minister’s home state.
He was supported by Sen. Isa Jubrin from Kogi State and Sen. Cleopas Moses Zuwoghe from Bayelsa State, who said the Committee would not recognise Eniade as Director General of CLTC.
At that point, Eniade said he actually attended the budget defence to observe the proceedings which made the Committee walk him out and asked to go to the place reserved for observers as they cannot recognise him as the Centre’s Director General.
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