Mixed Feelings for Adepoju Wura-Ola

Mix-ups are not very common in the civil service, at least not at the high level. However, it appears that this usually rare occurrence has raised its head and welcomed the appointment of Adepoju Wura-Ola as the acting Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) into its fold. After all, with her appointment, she also has to consider her retirement which is reported as originally scheduled for the day after her appointment.

The mix-up in the days of the appointment and retirement of Adepoju seems like a cruel joke. But it does not appear intended. For one thing, her predecessor, Idris Isah, had to leave the position after exhausting his extended stay. Second, her appointment to the NIS top seat came as one of the last-minute doings of former President Muhammadu Buhari before leaving the seat of power. Thus, Adepoju’s new appointment is just as things should be, especially because she was the NIS Deputy Comptroller General before the new boost in status.

Interestingly, some people care about Adepoju so much that they got her original appointment letter and found that she was born on July 13, 1963, and was taken up by NIS on May 31, 1988, at the age of 25. Moreover, the alleged letter also had it spelled out that Adepoju is supposed to retire on May 31, 2023, making her years in the service a total of 35 years. And it just so happened that her appointment to the peak position of NIS came a few days before her retirement.

Currently, people have their hands under their chins, waiting to see whether or not Adepoju would be made to honour the terms of her employment. Although it may not constitute a big issue in the long run, one cannot be too sure about these things.