…Sanwo-Olu appoints another Muri-Okunola as Permanent Secretary
…Civil Servants complain of Nepotism and Unfairness
Civil servants in Lagos State are voicing their displeasure over perceived gross nepotism and unfairness in top-level civil service appointments. These practices, which have reached alarming proportions, are exemplified by the career advancements of the Muri-Okunola siblings within the Lagos State bureaucracy.
To pave the way for the Muri-Okunolas and other politically connected civil servants, a system appears to have been designed involving under-the-table appointments, advantageous entry-point grade placements, accelerated promotions, special postings, undue favoritism, and premature retirements over the last few years.
The Muri-Okunola siblings in Lagos State civil service are said to be beneficiaries of the late Justice Muri-Okunola’s close relationship with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, allegedly to the detriment of other civil servants.
Hakeem Muri-Okunola, the Principal Private Secretary to the President, is considered to have initiated this trajectory of nepotism. He served Tinubu as an aide during his tenure as Governor of Lagos State and joined the civil service in 2007 as a parting gift. Under the Babatunde Fashola administration, he rapidly rose through the ranks, becoming a Permanent Secretary in less than eight years. His career was further fast-tracked to the position of Head of Service during the Akinwunmi Ambode administration, facilitated by the premature retirements of senior officers.
His sister, Dr. Monsurat Adeleke, has also been appointed as a Permanent Secretary, and more recently, their brother, Rasheed Muri-Okunola, received a new year appointment as Permanent Secretary in the Motor Vehicles Agency under the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration.
The Muri-Okunola family, along with a few other politically connected individuals, is seen as emblematic of a growing culture of accidental civil servants, those who enter the service through political patronage rather than merit. Other families reportedly benefiting from similar privileges include the Fasholas, Bushura Alebiosus, Solomons, Finiihs, and Perogrinos. This trend has sidelined hardworking and more qualified civil servants who are repeatedly overlooked for promotions.
The fact that three siblings from the Muri-Okunola family have been sequentially appointed as Permanent Secretaries, while long-serving, competent, and deserving civil servants are bypassed, is seen as a stain on the integrity of public service in Lagos State. With age on their side, Dr. Adeleke, in her 50s and Rasheed Muri-Okunola in his 40s, it is expected that they too will ascend to the position of Head of Service in the near future.
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Very very disturbing 😕
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