President Bola Tinubu has approved 18-month tenure extensions for Sylvester Nwakuche, the Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, and Kemi Nandap, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service.
Nwakuche’s term will now expire on May 26, 2028, while Nandap’s will expire on June 30, 2028, according to a statement released on Monday by his Special Advisor on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to Onanuga, the clearance came after Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the interior minister, recommended it.
He claimed that it would provide the board adequate time to name successors and fill a succession gap in both services.
“The approval, which followed a recommendation by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, addressed a succession gap in both Services and would allow the board enough time to appoint successors.
“President Tinubu commended Nwakuche and Nandap for the reforms achieved under their leadership and charged them to consolidate these gains,” the statement read.
Backstory…
Tinubu nominated Nwakuche in December 2024, and the Senate confirmed him in March 2025.
He initially assumed the role of acting Controller-General following the expiration of Haliru Nababa’s tenure on December 15, 2024.
At that time, Nwakuche served as the Deputy Controller-General in charge of training and staff development.
Nandap was nominated by Tinubu on February 21, 2024, and received Senate confirmation on March 1, 2024.
She was originally slated to retire on October 9, 2024, after completing 35 years of service.
In March 2025, her tenure was extended by 16 months—moving her retirement date from August 31, 2025, to December 31, 2026.
Monday’s approval is therefore her second tenure extension. Meanwhile, she is the third woman to head the Immigration Service.
This move comes just days after President Bola Tinubu ended promotion backlogs in the services under the ministry and approved lifetime salaries for retired Comptrollers-General and Deputy Comptrollers-General of Immigration.
