Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has narrated the circumstances surrounding his suspension and subsequent sack from the President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet in 2017, including the role of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in the matter.
Recall Lawal was suspended from office in October 2017 over a controversial grass cutting contract worth N544million.
The former SGF was alleged to have illegally diverted a contract of the Presidential Initiative for North East (PINE), awarded for the removal of grasses in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps to his own personal company.
Speaking on his suspension in public for the time during an interview session with Arise TV which was monitored by The New Diplomat, late Tuesday, Lawal alleged that a conspiracy theory played out in his removal from office.
Lawal, in his explanation stated that President Buhari was not aware prior to his suspension in 2017. According to him, his suspension was allegedly masterminded by Vice President Osinbajo.
He explained that following the emergence of the allegations levelled against him, the Vice President invited him over to his office at the Presidential Villa. Speaking further, Lawal said that during the meeting, Osinbajo briefed him on the situation surrounding the allegations, adding that the Vice President informed him that he would be suspended few days after the meeting.
According to the Lawal, Osinbajo said that the decision was communicated by the President. However, upon leaving the Vice-President’s office, Lawal disclosed that he saw a team of journalists asking him why he was suspended. He added that he suspects foul play as he was accosted by journalists who asked sundry questions about the conversation he just had with Osinbajo.
Lawal said he was shocked to have heard the press asking questions about his suspension given the fact that he only heard about it from the Vice President minutes before he walked into an assembly of pressmen.
In his words, “I went to the Villa, to his (vice-president) office and in his(Osinbajo) discussion he said ‘SGF there is a problem’ and I said ‘What is the problem?’ and he replied ‘well, the President has said we should look at your case’ and I said ‘which case?’ and he said ‘your case with the Senate.’ I said ‘oh that’s fine, he asked ‘that’s fine?’. He said ‘what is it (allegation) about by the way?’, and I said ‘I don’t know what it is, it is what I read in the papers but of course I have my own idea of what it is’.
“I gave him my idea of what it is. Later, he said ‘though the President didn’t say this, but you might need to step aside’. I said ‘is that necessary?’, and he said ‘yes’. Then I said ‘it is fine’. He asked ‘why is it fine?’, and I said ‘because I had wanted to go abroad to do some medical check-up but the president wouldn’t let me go.
“Then he told me there was a need to put one or two things in writing, and I said fine. Then I stood up and as I was leaving I said ‘by the way, you know you might have to make some announcement on the matter’ and he answered ‘of course I know. Then I asked him, ‘when would that be?’, and he said ‘maybe by Saturday.’
“I asked him because the president has a policy that if you are going to relieve someone of his position, you have to call him and tell him and give him two or three days. The president does not like the idea where you be watching TV and you saw that you have been removed. So that was why I asked him, and he said ‘Saturday’.
“Then I said thank you and went out of his office. As I got out there, the whole world was there, the cameras, I was ambushed. So, they asked ‘is it true that you have been suspended?’ and I asked ‘who told you that’ because I didn’t expect the question. That means I was the last person to know about the suspension,”he added.
Speaking on his trial at the Abuja High Court, Lawal expressed confidence that he would be discharged and cleared of all the allegations levelled against him.
Recall that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had slamed a 10-count charge against Lawal at the Abuja High Court.
Osinbajo was yet to respond to Lawal’s claims as of the time of this reporting. Also, efforts to get reactions from his media aides were yet to materialise.
