Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s decision to extend the tenure of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, describing it as a calculated move to sideline the next in line, BU Nwafor.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the apex Igbo socio-cultural body accused the president of breaching fairness, due process, and federal character principles.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has expressed deep dissatisfaction with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his tactful manoeuvre to deny Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs, BU Nwafor, her legitimate right to head the Nigeria Customs Service,” said the group’s National Publicity Secretary, Dr Ezechi Chukwu.
Adeniyi’s tenure was extended by one year, despite being due for retirement. That decision, Ohanaeze argues, effectively blocks Nwafor — who hails from Anambra State — from ascending to the top job, even though her service runs till October 2026.
With the extension in place, the next most senior officer after Nwafor, DCG KI Adeola, is now positioned to take over by the time Adeniyi finally exits. That’s what Ohanaeze calls a deliberate and calculated shortchange.
“This is a peak of favouritism, a textbook case of nepotism over merit. It’s institutional injustice,” Chukwu said.
The group also raised concerns over what it called growing signs of ethnic imbalance under the Tinubu administration.
“This discriminatory act is a violation of the principle of national unity and the tenets of the Nigerian national anthem, which reminds us that though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand,” the statement said.
“Is this what the Nigerian brand of brotherhood looks like? Can we still claim to be one nation in the face of this kind of ethnic profiling?”
Ohanaeze has now called on President Tinubu to reverse the decision and give Nwafor her due.
“We ask the president to revisit this act, which amounts to robbing Peter to pay Paul. It bruises national pride, undermines public morality, and tears at the fabric of unity,” the group said.
They also questioned the silence around the Federal Character principle embedded in the Constitution.
“What has become of the constitutionally guaranteed federal character principle?” Chukwu asked.
