Nigeria may have narrowly avoided what insiders describe as a major breach of established civil service procedures following allegations of a move to install a relatively lower-ranked officer from Kogi State as the next Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). And President Tinubu’s announcement of another six-month extension for the current CG, Wale Adeniyi, was the saving grace.
The current Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, is expected to leave office upon the expiration of the one-year extension granted to him by President Bola Tinubu in Febuary 2027.
However, highly placed sources told SaharaReporters that plans were allegedly underway to replace him with Deputy Comptroller H.O. Olorunfemi, an officer from Kaba in Kogi State.
According to the sources, the proposed appointment would have bypassed several senior officers within the service, potentially forcing hundreds of experienced personnel into premature retirement and significantly disrupting the hierarchy of the NCS.
Sources said the development generated tension within the service amid allegations that the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise, Leke Abejide, had been lobbying the Presidency to appoint his cousin, Deputy Comptroller Olorunfemi, as Acting Comptroller-General of Customs.
If implemented, the move would have led to the retirement of more than 500 officers senior to Olorunfemi, a situation some insiders described as a potential “sacrilege” against the provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023.
According to sources, the alleged push was linked to broader political considerations involving Abejide, who represents Yagba Federal Constituency of Kogi State.
The sources further claimed that the proposal formed part of wider political calculations and reward mechanisms connected to ongoing efforts to weaken the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Political observers pointed to comments previously made by the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, during a private event where he urged Abejide to remain in the ADC and continue internal political battles within the party.
Gbajabiamila had said: “I know you to be a committed party man. I know you to be a fighter. I know you to be someone who does not like to be cheated. So, please, my charge to you is to stay in the same ADC. Fight them. Scatter them. Hold on to your party. Do not abandon them. We like what you are doing, continue.
At the time, the ADC was grappling with internal divisions involving factions associated with former Senate President David Mark and Nafiu Bala Gombe.
Sources familiar with the matter said what particularly alarmed many within government circles was the alleged attempt to elevate a relatively lower-ranked officer to the highest office in the Customs Service despite the availability of more senior and experienced officers.
One source described the move as a dangerous departure from established procedures that could have undermined morale within the service.