According to the presidency, the heads of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) were relieved of their duties rather than fired.
According to a statement issued on Monday by Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the president for media and publicity, Alexander Okoh, director-general of the BPE, and Babatunde Irukera, chief executive officer of the FCCPC, have been fired.
DailyBrief had reported that the president dismissed the two.
However, on Tuesday, President Tinubu’s special adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated that their departure was not a dismissal.
In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, Onanuga stated that Tinubu’s directive was to relieve them while the president searches for their successors.
He wrote:
“I have followed the concerns in the media on the report that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu dismissed Babatunde Irukera EVC/CEO, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and Alexander Ayoola Okoh — Director-General/CEO, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).”
“The President’s directive did not intend a dismissal. The two men who have served our country were relieved of their duties by the President, as he scouts for their successors.
“The connotations implied in using the word dismissal were clearly not intended in the statement issued.”
Tinubu, according to Onanuga, thanked Okoh and Irukera for their services and wished them well in their future endeavours.