• Says Extension Blocks S’ East Born Nwafor’s Rise to top job
By Hamilton Nwosa
Lauretta Onochie, a former aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari and past chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has sparked controversy by accusing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of extending the tenure of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Comptroller General, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, to allegedly prevent Deputy Comptroller General (DCG) BU Nwafor from assuming the role.
The New Diplomat reports that Tinubu recently approved a one-year extension for Adeniyi, whose tenure was originally set to expire on August 31, 2025, after 35 years of service since joining the NCS in August 1990.
The extension was announced in a press statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Onanuga said the extension is aimed at allowing Adeniyi to consolidate ongoing reforms, including modernizing the NCS, implementing the National Single Window Project, and fulfilling Nigeria’s obligations under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) protocol.
However, Onochie who rejected the explanation, claimed that the decision was strategically made to sideline DCG Nwafor, who hails from Anambra State and is next in line for the position of Comptroller General of Customs Service.
Onochie said that Nwafor’s retirement is scheduled for October 2026, when she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 60.
She argued that extending Adeniyi’s tenure deprives Nwafor of her rightful opportunity to lead the NCS, pointing to what she described as a pattern of tenure extensions that undermine career progression and morale in the service.
She said: “Under Pres. @officialABAT, nothing is in her favour
1. She’s a woman
2. She has no husband in the villa
3. She has no boyfriend in the Villa
4. She has no brother in the Villa
5. She Is Not from Bourdillon
6. No Governor’s backing
7. SHE IS FROM ANAMBRA
This is Tinubu’s Nigeria.”
