- Bawalla’s five-year term as the Lagos FCC commissioner was renewed.
- An earlier statement by the presidency announced the reappointment of Muheeba Dankaka as chairman.
- But a followup statement hours later announced her replacement.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reappointed Abdulwasiu Kayode Bawalla as the Federal Character Commission (FCC) commissioner representing Lagos State, while making a dramatic leadership change that saw Muheeba Dankaka removed as chairperson only hours after her reappointment was announced.
In an initial statement on Monday, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), had said Dankaka would begin a second five-year term.
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However, a fresh announcement later the same day, which Onanuga noted supersedes the earlier one, named Ayo Hulayat Omidiran, a former member of the House of Representatives, as her successor.
Mohammed Musa was subsequently appointed as the commission’s secretary, while Kayode Oladele, the commissioner from Ogun State and former acting chairman, retained his seat. Tinubu also renewed the appointments of Lawal Ya’u Roni (Jigawa), Abubakar Atiku Bunu (Kebbi), and Eludayo Eluyemi (Osun).
Bawalla, first appointed in July 2020, will serve alongside a newly constituted board that includes commissioners from all 36 states and the FCT.
Before his appointment as the FCC commissioner representing Lagos State, the reappointed FCC commissioner was an active participant in Lagos and national polity. He actively served in the successful 2019 presidential and governorship campaigns of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In an interview with EKO HOT BLOG in December 2024, the Lagos representative in the FCC noted a paradigm shift in the enlistment of Lagos indigenes into the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).
“When I came on board some four years ago, this [high enlistment by Lagos inidigenes] was not happening and it has grown every year to this highlight today,” he said at the successful departure ceremony of the shortlisted members of the 88RRI of the 9 Brigade Nigerian Army.
“Lagos State had struggled over the years to get the interest of Lagosians to take their rightful place in the armed forces of Nigeria and it is a critical entity of Nigeria and a benefit of the federal republic of Nigeria to all Nigerians.”
Other new FCC commissioners include Hon. Obina Oriaku (Abia), Mrs. Bema Olvadi Madayi (Adamawa), Obongawan Dora Ebong (Akwa Ibom), Hon. Nnoli Nkechi Gloria (Anambra), and Babangida Adamu Gwana (Bauchi), among others.
Dankaka’s tenure was dogged by controversy – Presidency
Dankaka’s removal as FCC chairperson comes after a turbulent tenure marked by allegations of high-handedness and job racketeering.
In July 2023, some FCC commissioners accused her before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating recruitment abuses and IPPIS mismanagement. She denied the allegations.
A few days into the panel’s sitting, an investigation accused members of the house committee of extorting money from agencies.
The committee was later dissolved, and nothing has been heard about it since then.
In June, a group calling itself Concerned Staff Members of the FCC warned that reappointing Dankaka “would not only reward failure — it would legitimise corruption, deepen division, and destroy the last threads of trust in the FCC.”
FURTHER READING
The FCC is mandated to ensure equitable representation of Nigeria’s diverse groups in federal appointments and resource allocation. The Presidency says the new leadership is expected to restore trust and strengthen the commission’s mission of fairness and inclusion.
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