How Akunyili rejected UNICEF Job for ministerial appointment
By Aaron Ukodie, Deputy Business Editor

It can now be confirmed that former Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) Dr Dora Akunyili was on her way to becoming the Africa's Regional Director for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) when she was nominated for a ministerial job by President Musa Yar'Adua.






She would have taken up the appointment at the expiration of her tenure as DG of NAFDAC where she was credited for sterling performance, for which she has also received several global and local accolades and awards.

UNICEF is reported to have offered her the job based on her performance at NAFDAC and the consideration that she will be of immense benefit to the organisation and the African region that is in dire need of effective and efficient implementation of UNICEF programmes.

UNICEF is the United Nations Children's Fund that works for children's rights, survival, development and protection.

Competent sources close to NAFDAC said Akunyili turned down the UNICEF job when the ministerial offer came with the understanding that she would be assigned the health portfolio, the area of her core competence.

Daily Independent gathered from presidency sources that the health portfolio was denied her when former President Olusegun Obasanjo stepped in and moved for the allocation of the health ministry job to Professor Babatunde Oshotumehin, whom he favoured.

Akunyili is reported to have expressed her preference for the Health Ministry as against the Information and Communication portfolio she got.

Several Nigerians who thought that Akunyili would have been more useful in the health Ministry have knocked her assignment to the Communication and Information Ministry and wondered if she will be careful enough not to erase her good works at NAFDAC.

Already there are indications that Akunyili was in for a testy time at the Ministry where there are many intrigues and the peddling of half truths regarding the industry operations.

Telecom operators have already started knocking her first step at the Ministry, when she scheduled for a meeting with telecommunications operators without taking the traditional briefing from Ministry and agencies' officials.

The meeting with the industry players is scheduled for January 6, 2009 according to competent sources.

She will come to the meeting without the usual briefing and hand notes from her key aides and field staff both in the Ministry and the various agencies she is expected to supervise.

Some of the thorny industry issues that will face Akunyili at the Ministry include the unresolved matter of the proposed merger of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) with Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the sale of shares of NITEL to a competent core investor, the role of NigComSat and the rural telephony project.

Akunyili may also supervise the appointment of a new and competent Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC who will be able to continue in the good works at the Commission when the tenure of the incumbent ends in the first quarter of 2010.

President of the Association Of Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo confirmed the January 6, meeting.

He said that a number of issues will be tabled before the new Minister for her immediate attention.

They include the need for government to play a role in solving the quality of service challenge.

According to him, no matter what the network operators do, if government fails to play its own role of solving the energy crisis that hinders smooth business operation in the country attainment of maximum quality of service threshold will be a mirage.

In the past while the country's lawmakers and other critics pummeled the operators and the regulator for poor quality of service, many of them kept a blind eye to the energy crisis factor and the role of government in solving the challenge.

He also said the Minister will be told of the need to tackle the issues of security for telecommunication infrastructure across the country.

Adebayo noted that a lot of infrastructure built since 2001 by the telecom operators are being damaged, some by government agents with impunity.

Government will also need to provide access roads for operators to enable them deploy their base stations and other infrastructure to remote areas and carry out maintenance quickly.

Telecommunication network operators are increasingly finding it difficult to secure right of way and are facing the problem of damage to their infrastructure, especially on the country's highway that are now experiencing dualisation.

Abuja, he said remains a problem as many operators still find it difficult to gain right of way to deploy base stations for optimal performance of their networks.

According to him the Minister will be told of the need to work in collaboration with the National Assembly so as to declare telecommunication infrastructure as a national infrastructure to protect it from willful damage.

http://odili.net/news/source/2009/jan/1/700.html

If true,she's probably made the biggest mistake of her life:
El Ruffy,Ribadu,Okonjo,Oby & soon to be disgraced Soludo are living examples of the futilty of working with a bunch of corrupt,unscrupulos and undiciplined 'leaders' bereft of any vision.

In my personal opinion, I think this Woman has made a very BIG MISTAKE

Jairzinho:

If true,she's probably made the biggest mistake of her life:
El Ruffy,Ribadu,Okonjo,Oby & soon to be disgraced Soludo are living examples of the futilty of working with a bunch of corrupt,unscrupulos and undiciplined 'leaders' bereft of any vision.

Well said. I think she is on her own way to a very embarrassing end.

Very soon, we shall be comparing Madam Dora's case to that of Ribadu's case



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D-Explorer:

Very soon, we shall be comparing Madam Dora's case to that of Ribadu's case

Typical Nigeria method and system. She is doing excellent job in NAFDAC and now they remove her and put her into something she knew probably next to nothing. Isn't that a waste. It's like putting your best goalkeeper to lead the attack, when you knew he is better in the game with his hand rather than his feet.

Nigeria: One step foward and 20 backwards.

What does a minister or a commisioner for information do?

Eziachi:

What does a minister or a commisioner for information do?

Lie of course!

Smart choice, who no want free money and cheap publicity

I have faith in her that she will do a good job