FOU: Promotion, To Whom Much Is Given Much Is Expected Of Him- Yahaya

By Spehen 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  senior officers  by the Nigerian Customs Board with their new ranks.

In carrying out the  duties, Yhaya had told the 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 effort  in  discharging their duties with their new ranks.

 One of the officers who had  benefitted from the promotion exercise  was Jack Okpabi, a former Chief Superintendent of Customs in – charge of Gbaji Check point and  who at different times has been given special assignment outside the Gbaji axis to Ogun, Oyo and other flash point smuggling areas in the south west 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 the other senior 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  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 promoted by the Nigerian 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 in the Command as the spokesperson, was promoted to the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Customs, DSC. The surprising it about it   was that it 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 were said to have  written the examination once or twice  but had not scaled through the hurdle.

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 being 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  at the Zonal, Headquarters and various Commands across the country.  Many believe that his deployment to Zone C, is a big loss to FOU, Zone A.

Insiders told The Value News he has continued to appeal to close friends in the Media to relate with his successor the way they had related with him over the last three years and give the  Command the necessary support  by  promoting the works of Yahaya, the Command Comptroller and not antagonise him.