- * Nigerians Urge President To Allow Him Serve Out His Full Tenure
By Janet Bassey (Governance Reporter)
President Bola Tinubu, on Friday, approved the appointment of Mr Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, an indigene of Oguta, Imo state, as the Acting Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).
The appointment of Nwakuche, a Deputy Controller-General of the Nigerian Prison Services now renamed Nigerian Correctional Service, followed the expiration of the tenure of the out-going Controller-General, Haliru Nababa.
Nwakuche's appointment was announced in a statement issued by the Secretary to the Civil Defence, Immigration, Fire Service and Correctional Service Board, (CDCFIB), Ja’afaru Ahmed, on Friday, December 13, 2024.
According to Ahmed, “the appointment takes effect from Sunday, December 15.” 2024. He said the appointment was a testament to Sylvester's Ndidi Nwakuche's wealth of experience and dedication to the service.
Ahmed stated that Tinubu charged Nwakuche to bring his wealth of experience to bear in his new capacity and ensure the continued transformation of the service.
The new acting Controller-General of the NCoS who hails from Umunkwokomoshi village in Oguta, Imo State, was born on November 26, 1966. He is expected to build on the achievements of his predecessor while introducing new initiatives to further advance the mandate of the NCoS.
Until his appointment, Nwakuche was the Deputy Controller General in charge of the Training and Staff Development Directorate, where he played a crucial role in shaping the training and development policies of the service.
A fellow of the prestigious National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Ndidi is a highly decorated officer, holding the national honour of Member of the Federal Republic (MFR)
He attended the Universities of Calabar and Lagos where he obtained his first and masters degrees respectively. He joined the Nigerian Correctional Service as an Assistant Superintendent of Corrections (ASC) in 1990, after the mandatory National Service and rose through the ranks to the position of Deputy Controller-General in 2020. Nwakuche Sylvester has served at several Correctional Service formations in Nigeria, spanning through Port-Harcourt, Lagos, Ibadan and at the Correctional Service Staff College, Kaduna as a Directing staff. He also served at the National Headquarters of Nigerian Correctional Service, Abuja., where he worked at various Sections and Directorates.
Nwakuche was once a Technical Assistant to the Special Assistant to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Prison Matters, and was also a Principal Staff Officer (PSO) to two Controllers-General of Corrections before his nomination to the Senior Executive Course 38, at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru, Jos, Plateau State in 2016. Upon his return from NIPSS where he excelled,, he was posted to the FCT Abuja Command, as Controller of Corrections In-charge of the capital city Command.
Meanwhile, Nigerians have commended President Tinubu for considering Mr Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche worthy of stepping into the shoes of his former boss as Controller-General of the Nigeria Correctional Services in acting capacity and as next in command. But they however urged Tinubu to use the appointment of Nwakuche as an opportunity to demonstrate to watchers of his administration that merit, capacity, justice, equity and fair play have place in his government irrespective of people's ethnic group and sundry conditions.
They urged President Tinubu not to allow himself to be arm-twisted into pandering to ethnic politics by prematurely removing or retiring the new Acting Controller-General and replacing him with a candidate of his ethnic region or another officer outside the South East zone.
"I have heard stories about the professional competence, dedication to duty, visionary qualities and loyalty of the Acting Controller-General which makes him quite suitable for the job", observed Chief Akintunde Oladokun, a business man based in Wuse, Abuja. He added that, "l have had occasions to visit the headquarters of Prisons to do one or two things and l overheard officers talk about him in glowing terms. Therefore l have no doubt that he would do well as Controller-General to merit his confirmation and subsequently serve out his term of office meritoriously. NNL.
