Editor: How could Mr Steve Oronsaye dispute the report of the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force when he did not attend its sittings nor participate in its deliberations?Since he gained prominence in President Obasanjo’s administration Oronsaye has always been in pole position on government assignments and committees, giving him the status of Man Friday, the bureaucracy’s Mr Fix-It. In the instant case he was a” floor member”; hence he did not deign to participate in the work of the committee. It was not enough he was deputy chairman. He would not submit a minority report as dissenters are wont to do in these climes; he would instead disparage its work.
As evidence of his ubiquity and, perhaps, indispensability in the eyes of those who tout his capabilities. Oronsaye concurrently sits on the boards of both the Central Bank and the NNPC. Rules on public office appointment do not allow membership of boards of multiple organisations at the same time. Perhaps in his bout of reforms as Head of Civil Service, that safeguard was removed.
In the encounter between the two, Oronsaye clearly lost out, at least in the eyes of the public, while by the same measure Nuhu Ribadu’s rehabilitation seems nearly complete.
Muhammed Usman,
