FOU: Yahaya Advises Newly promoted Officers To Justify Their Promotion, To Whom Much Is Given Much Is Expected Of Him

By Stephen Ubanna

Last Monday, July 27,  2020, was a very busy day at the Federal Operations Unit, FOU, Zone A, Ikeja. This is because  Usman Yahaya, the Command  acting Comptroller, Ahmadu Shuaibu, Bolakaya  Adebayo and other  senior officers in the Command had gathered in the Boardroom to decorate the newly promoted  officers  by the Nigerian Customs Board with their new ranks.

In carrying out the  duties, Yahaya had advised the newly promoted officers that ‘’to whom much is given , much is expected of him’’. It was a big challenge to the officers who are expected to double their efforts  in  discharging their duties with their new ranks.

 One of the officers that had  benefited from the promotion exercise  was Jack Okpabi, a former Chief Superintendent of Customs in – charge of Gbaji Check point and  who at different times had been given special assignment outside the Gbaji axis to Ogun, Oyo and other flash point smuggling areas in the south west geopolitical region by the Area Comptroller. Jack was promoted to the enviable rank of  an Assistant Comptroller. He was said to have been decorated by the Area Comptroller along side other officers who got the promotion.

Another senior  officer whose promotion was really  hailed because of his outstanding performance in managing the Image of the Command by  ensuring that the Command never had any bad press since his deployment to the Command some three years ago from the Customs Headquarters was Jerry Attah.

Okpabi and Attah, were among the 2,634  senior  Customs Officers that were approved for promotion by the Customs Board under the Chairmanship of Hajia Zainab Ahmed, minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, at the Board recent meeting in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

 Note that Attah , who has served three different Comptrollers at FOU, Zone A, as the spokesperson, was promoted to the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Customs, DSC. The surprising it about his promotion   was that this was his first time of writing the DSC, promotion examination  and  he was said to have  passed  with merit. There are many officers of  the  same  rank  who had  written the promotion examination once or twice   but could not scale through the hurdle.

Yahaya: DC And Acting Comptroller, FOU, Zone A.

This may have informed  why  Congratulatory  messages  have continued to be sent to  him by friends and Associates. The joy in his face  when he was decorated by the Command acting Comptroller  with the support of Adebayo, a Deputy Comptroller speaks volume.

  He is expected to carry his wealth of experience in Public Relations Management to FOU, Zone C where he has been deployed to in the recent deployment of  the  service  public Relations Officers  in the various Zones and Commands across the country including the Customs Headquarters.  Many believe that his deployment to Zone C, is a big loss to FOU, Zone A.

Acting Compt. Yhaya And DC. Adebayo Decorating Attah, With His DSC. Rank

Insiders told The Value News since it became a public knowledge that he is leaving for FOU, Zone C, to head, the Public Relations Unit, he has continued to appeal to close friends in the Media to relate with his successor the same way they had related with him over the last three years in the  Command.

He expects the media to give   adequate  publicity to Yahaya, the Command acting Comptroller of the Command   and not antagonise him. The Maritime Journalists were said to have taken his advise in good faith and assured him of Cooperating with his successor in order to succeed in the Command.  

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