· Says Not Kogi Indigene; Lacks Requisite Qualification
Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs
A SENIOR Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Adam Umar Bako, has kicked against the appointment of Mrs Regina Ingekem Ocheni as Ambassadorial nominee for Kogi State; a protest letter to the national Assembly sighted by National Record reveals.
In the letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Bako cried out against the omission of his name from the list of ambassadorial nominees read out on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, 12th May 2020. He said as the most senior officer from Kogi State, his name, rather than that of Ocheni, whom he claims is from Cross River State, ought to be on the list.
By virtue of the Service wide extant regulation issued by the Federal Character Commission, an officer is prohibited from claiming the State of origin of her spouse for the purpose of any appointment. This standing rule is confirmed and reinforced by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation each time Permanent Secretary appointments are to be made,” Bako stated while making reference to two circulars; a 1997 circular from the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and a 2020 circular from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Bako, who hails from Koton Karfe LGA, Kogi West Senatorial District of Kogi State, alleged that though from Cross River State, Ocheni is married to an indigene of Kogi State, Dr Stephen Ocheni, who was former Minister of State for Labour and Employment.
Bako argued that Ocheni’s nomination as an indigene of Kogi State violates extant rules guiding appointment of career officers for ambassadorial position.
“Your Excellency may wish to note that Mrs Regina I. Ocheni is a native of Cross River but only married to Dr. Ocheni an Igala man from the East Senatorial District of Kogi State. By virtue of the Service wide extant regulation issued by the Federal Character Commission, an officer is prohibited from claiming the State of origin of her spouse for the purpose of any appointment. This standing rule is confirmed and reinforced by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation each time Permanent Secretary appointments are to be made,” Bako stated while making reference to two circulars; a 1997 circular from the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and a 2020 circular from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Both circulars which were attached to the protest letter to the senate underscored that marriage is not a requirement for state of origin in the case of female directors. Specifically, the circular by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dated 13th February 2020, addressed to directors and all members of staff of the ministry, titled: “INDIGENOUS STATUS OF STAFF,” and signed by Mrs W. A. Adedeji, Acting Director, Administration, stated, among other things that: “Sequel to several complaints to the Postings and Passages Division arising from the indigenous status of Married female staff, I am directed to refer to Circular No. FCC/SEC/01013 dated 3rd October, 1997 issued by the Federal Character Commission which defines the indigenous status of married female staff in Public Service in Nigeria, inter alia “the indigenous status of a married woman is her state of origin and not the state of origin of her husband” and the Ministry’s earlier Circular ref No. 3/AS.24.S.I dated 1st March, 2011 on the above subject matter.” (Ministry’s emphasis)
According to Bako, Mrs Ocheni violated this rule by submitting a local government indigeneship certificate from Kogi State. “Indeed, the date on the Certificate and the date of its submission to the Ministry as part of her documentation are a pointer to the fact that it was hurriedly processed as a result of her desperation to sustain her misrepresentation of fact. The Ministry has a copy of it in her File,” Bako stated while further pointing out that Mrs Ocheni’s state of origin could be confirmed from, among other evidences, “her completed online visa application form when she applied for US visa, which clearly shows the detail particulars of her parents as indigenes of Cross River State” and “her documentations in every school she attended from the level of Primary to the Polytechnic.”
Nominee also lacks requisite qualification
Apart from the violation of existing protocol on state of origin, Bako also drew the Senate’s attention to other infractions he alleged may have been committed by Mrs Ocheni, particularly her not undergoing the mandatory training at the Foreign Service Academy by the nature of her entry into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the grade level she was given when she entered.
Bako stated: “Your Excellency, Mrs. Regina Ocheni’s case is not only bad, but incurably bad, given the circumstance surrounding her engagement into the Foreign Service. It will also interest you to know that Mrs. Regina Ocheni did not in the first place qualify to be in the Foreign Service for want of requisite academic qualification in the Scheme of Service as provided for by the law. She possesses an HND Certificate in Secretariat Study that is not recognized as a qualification for the job. More troubling is the fact that at the time she joined the Foreign Service, the Law harmonizing HND and First Degree had not been passed and accented to, meaning therefore, that she could only have been on Grade Level 14 which was the bar for all HND holders as at then.
“Additionally, Mrs. Regina Ocheni does not possess the requisite training as a Foreign Service Officer as she did not attend the Foreign Service Academy which is mandatory for Career progression. It is indeed a matter of concern that the authority has over the years inadvertently omitted to correct the wrongs surrounding Mrs. Ocheni’s appointment when all these facts were or should have been known to the authority. Had this been done, present inequity/potential injustice would have been averted regardless of the State she claims.”
“Another worrisome question that should be asked is how did she come into the Foreign Service on Grade Level 15 without additional qualification? It is not on record since the creation of the Ministry that an officer may be recruited on Grade Level 15 directly or through advertisement by the Federal Civil Service Commission. Her promotions till date have been undeserving accordingly. The law is that one cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand. When a foundation is faulty, the structure collapses. Legally speaking therefore Sir, she is not in service. This is a very serious situation.
“Additionally, Mrs. Regina Ocheni does not possess the requisite training as a Foreign Service Officer as she did not attend the Foreign Service Academy which is mandatory for Career progression. It is indeed a matter of concern that the authority has over the years inadvertently omitted to correct the wrongs surrounding Mrs. Ocheni’s appointment when all these facts were or should have been known to the authority. Had this been done, present inequity/potential injustice would have been averted regardless of the State she claims.”
Mr Bako, while pleading with the Senate not to see his protest as confrontation, argued that allowing Mrs Ocheni’s “nomination to proceed to confirmation will occasion a great injustice to me, destroy morale and create bad blood in the Service.”
All efforts to reach the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to speak on the matter failed as the contact number, 084 666 876, displayed on the ministry’s website was said not to exist.
