Naijaonpoint
Following the report by SecretsReporters detailing the alleged illegal mass transfer, victimisation of Akwa Ibom indigenes and other administrative controversies surrounding the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Akwa Ibom State Command, the State Commandant, Commandant Geraldine Abetianbe, has been removed from the command.
The development followed intervention by the Senate President, who, according to sources familiar with the matter, directed the Minister responsible for the Corps to ensure that personnel affected by the controversial transfers are paid their statutory transfer allowances and that the Commandant be removed over her vindictive transfer exercise.
The development comes days after SecretsReporters published an exclusive report titled, “How NSCDC Commandant Turned Command Into Fiefdom – Illegal Mass Transfers, Victimisation of Akwa Ibom Indigenes, Permanent Site Converted to Private Farm,” which detailed complaints by affected officers over the manner in which several senior personnel were transferred out of Akwa Ibom State.
The earlier report established that the affected personnel were transferred to different parts of the country, including states in the northern region, without the payment of the transfer-related entitlements provided for under the Public Service Rules.
The officers had particularly complained that the transfers placed a heavy financial burden on them, as they were expected to relocate over long distances without resettlement, transportation and accommodation allowances.
Following the intervention, sources told SecretsReporters that the affected personnel are now expected to receive their transfer allowances, in line with the directive issued to the ministry.
However, despite her removal from the Akwa Ibom Command, the outgoing Commandant is said to be making moves to push out the officers affected by the controversial transfers before formally handing over the command.
Sources said that no general circular announcing the change of leadership has so far been sighted by personnel at the command. Instead, the outgoing Commandant is said to have received a redeployment letter posting her to another zone.
Similarly, the officer selected to take over the Akwa Ibom Command received his posting letter on Wednesday, further confirming the impending change of leadership at the command.
The development, however, appears to form part of a wider leadership reshuffle within the Corps, as SecretsReporters gathered that four other states have also recorded changes in the leadership of their respective NSCDC commands.
Source: …Secretsreporters