It was a bright day full of encomiums on Thursday 29th February, 2024 at the Nigeria Immigration Service headquarters parade ground when the 18th Comptroller- General of the Service, Mrs Carol Wuraola Adepoju bowed out of service, having put in 35 years of hardwork, creativity, perseverance, commitment, loyalty and leadership.
The occasion which was graced by the Inspector- General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, representatives of : the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Corp Marshall of the Federal Road Safety Corp; past comptroller- generals of the Service, DCGs, ACGs, other serving officers, legislators, traditional rulers, the former Governor of Ekiti State John Kayode Fayemi, and the Minister of Interior, Hon. Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, technical partners and service providers such as Contec Global represented by Mr. Tunde Ayansanwo as well as the husband of the retiring CG, Chief Adepoju, other relatives and other Nigerians fro various walks of life. The press was well represented too.
The high points of the occasion include the various salute-taking by officers of the various military and paramilitary services, including the incoming Comptroller –General Kemi Nana Nandap, the inspector- general of Police and others.
Others were the several parades and parade review by the outgoing Comptroller-General, the speeches by the incoming and outgoing Comptrollers- General and the Minister of Interior and finally the actual pulling out exercise which involved escorting her to the gate. It was a beautiful and touching moment.
In her brief speech, Carol Wuraola Adepoju stated in part as follows: “The soul and heart of what I have to say today is gratitude – to God Almighty, to you Nigerians. I am very grateful to the President, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu. I happen to be the first appointee of this administration. I pray to God Almighty that this administration will succeed.
“I also recognize the role played by the Honourable Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo. He met me in an acting capacity, he ensured that I was confirmed. Thank you so much.
“My colleagues in the service you have all said very kind things about me but I will never fail to call it to your attention that you made it possible- you brought out the very best in me. The crop of immigration officers that I worked with in the top management are the best team ever assembled by the Nigerian Immigration Service.
She admitted that, “We might have had our issues concerning everybody showing interest in becoming CGIS, which is good (because) it is the dream of every immigration officer but apart from that they were cooperative, supportive and respectful.
Adepoju wished the outgoing management team success in their future endeavours while exhorting the management team that will be working with her successor, Kemi Nana Nandap, to be loyal, supportive and dedicated. In addition, she advised the officers to uphold the reforms being introduced by the Minister.
On his part, the Minister of Interior Hon. Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo commended the outgoing CG on behalf of the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Continuing, he said, “I want to thank you for not just raising the bar for the service but for raising the bar on behalf of the women in society.
“From your performance, and I say this without any iota of reservation, if it was possible to have a life CG, I would have made you a life CG”, he quipped.
“I want to thank you for setting the record of clearing a backlog of 200,000 passports in 2 weeks.
He also used the opportunity to thank her husband for his understanding and accommodating spirit on occasions when he had to call her up even in the middle of the night to follow up on issues.
Tunji-Ojo also used the opportunity to charge the new CG –Kemi Nana Nandap- to build on the solid foundation laid by her predecessor counselling her to be wary of the kind of advice she receives and works with. He also encouraged the officers to give her their support.