The power tussle to occupy the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) in Abuja has become intense.
In “a show of strength and a spirit of sending defiant signal to the Presidency”, the incumbent, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Sakirat Madein, who should have proceeded on
pre-retirement leave, has redeployed his successor, Shamseldeen Babatunde Ogunjimi, instead of allowing him to understudy her.
Ogunjimi, who was moved with 20 others, has up to Christmas eve to report in his new post.
Madein has vowed to remain in office till March 7, 2025 when she is due for retirement.
A senior civil servant in the nation’s capital described the latest action as “abnormal and a disregard for civil service rules. Ogunjimi is the real target. The redeployment of others was just to give it a resemblance of following administrative procedure”.
Ogunjimi was appointed by President Bola Tinubu on December 10 and Mrs. Madein is expected to proceed on pre-retirement leave. But, she has opted to be in office to resist Ogunjimi’s appointment.
The latest redeployment of Ogunjimi was seen as part of the grand plot to stop him from occupying the office.
In a December 18 circular which she personally signed, Madein said: “I hereby approve the posting of the following Directorate Level Treasury Officers with immediate effect towards enhancing effective service delivery.
“I want to further reiterate that all officers are to note that failure to comply with this posting instruction shall be treated in accordance with the provision of the Public Service Rules (PSR) 020602 (iv).
“Accordingly, affected officers are advised to submit assumption of duty certificates to the office of the undersigned on or before Tuesday, 24th December, 2024.”
In the circular, Ogunjimi was moved from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (Funds) to the Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN) Accounts.
Some others redeployed were Abalaka James N (OAGF Funds); Dagin Seldam (OAGF STF); Ekwem Virginus E (OAGF IPPIS); Luka Joshua Kadmi (Ministry of Foreign Affairs Accounts)etc
On December 10, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced the approval of the President for the appointment of Ogunjimi as Acting Accountant-General.
Onanuga, in a statement, said: “His (Ogunjimi) appointment is effective immediately following the pre-retirement leave of the incumbent AG-F, Dr. (Mrs.) Oluwatoyin Sakirat Madein”.
However, Mrs. Madein and some top officials of the ministry frustrated Ogunjimi’s resumption until yesterday when his redeployment along with other officers, was announced.
The situation at the AG-F office became more confusing when it became clear to the polarised staff members that the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (HoCSF) had endorsed Mrs. Madein to remain in office till her March 7 retirement date.
She took advantage of the elongation of her stay in office by the HoCSF to redeploy Ogunjimi.
The letter authorising Mrs. Madein’s continuation in office was issued by the HoCSF, Mrs. Esther Walson-Jack, and confirmed in Abuja on Thursday.
According to the spokesperson of the (OAGF), Mr. Bawa Mokwa, the letter reinstates Mrs. Madein to her role as AG-F and allows her to oversee treasury operations until her retirement.
Mokwa said: “Embarking on terminal leave by retiring civil servants is optional; it’s in the civil service regulations”.
However, staff members are unsure if Mrs. Madein’s letter invalidates Ogunjimi’s appointment by the President.
While the letter did not explicitly nullify Ogunjimi’s appointment as Acting AG-F, it may have slowed down his resumption as the acting AG-F until President Bola Ahmed Tinubu decides.
