…condemns Tinubu’s recent extension of the tenure of Comptroller General of Customs.
ABUJA, NIGERIA – The iNews Times reports that the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, has accused President Bola Tinubu of deliberately stalling the elevation of Deputy Comptroller General of Customs, BU Nwafor, from Anambra State, to the top job in the Nigeria Customs Service.
In a statement issued Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Dr Ezechi Chukwu, Ohanaeze condemned President Tinubu’s recent extension of the tenure of Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi – a move the group described as a strategic ploy to deny Nwafor his rightful succession.
“President Tinubu, a few days ago, granted a one-year tenure extension to the current Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, who is already due for retirement, thereby shortchanging the next in line of succession, DCG BU Nwafor, whose retirement is due in October 2026,” the group stated.
Ohanaeze argued that the extension effectively clears the path for another top Customs officer, DCG KI Adeola, to assume the position in 2026, bypassing Nwafor altogether. The group labeled the decision “a crown jewel of institutional unfairness,” and an affront to both merit and federal character principles.
“With this reprehensible development, DCG KI Adeola is strategically positioned to take over from CG Adeniyi in 2026, rather than DCG Nwafor,” the statement read. “It is a peak of favouritism, a display of blatant nepotism over merit, bureaucratic standard, and social conscience.”
The group warned that such actions erode public confidence in the principle of federal character enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution and aggravate ethnic mistrust in a multi-ethnic nation.
“This discriminatory act is a violation of the principle of national unity and the tenets of the Nigerian national anthem which echoes: ‘Though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand.’”
Ohanaeze called on President Tinubu to immediately revisit the decision and restore due process in the interest of national equity.
“Is this the prototype of the Nigerian brand of brotherhood and patriotism?” the group queried. “Can we continue to pretend that we are one people and one nation in the face of this canonic ethnic profiling?”
The statement concluded with a stern appeal: “We urge President Tinubu to reverse this obvious act of robbing Peter to pay Paul, which amounts to injustice, inequity, failure of public morality, and a bruise on national pride.”
As the tenure extension continues to spark outcry in sections of the country, the presidency has yet to issue a formal response.
