The recently replaced executive secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Ogbonnaya Orji, has asserted that the decision to replace him did not follow due process.
Orji who was appointed in February 2021, and whose tenure is due to end in three months, was on Tuesday, replaced by Musa Adar, on the approval of President President Bola Tinubu.
The announcement to remove him was made while he was in Yerevan, Armenia, attending the 64th Board Meeting of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
However, Orji said in a statement that he had submitted a voluntary notice of exit, which takes effect when his tenure ends on February 19, 2026.
“Before my departure, I formally notified the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chair of the National Stakeholders Working Group of NEITI, in writing, of my intention to exit office upon the completion of my five-year single tenure,” he said.
According to Orji, the decision to name his successor should have been “ordinarily made after the expiry of the notice period, in line with due process and established transition protocols”.
“This statutory notification is a standard, transparent, and honourable procedure I have followed throughout my more than three decades of dedicated service in the Federal Public Service.
“It is not—and has never been—a dismissal.
I was therefore surprised to see reports suggesting that a successor had been appointed before the lawful expiration of my tenure. While government has the unquestionable authority to appoint my successor, such decisions are ordinarily made after the expiry of the notice period, in line with due process and established transition protocols,” he stated.
He added that he had drawn the attention of the relevant authorities to the “administrative oversight”, and expressed confidence that it would be “addressed appropriately”.
Orji added: “For the avoidance of doubt: I was not sacked by President Tinubu. I simply fulfilled my obligation by giving advance notice of the expiration of my tenure and my voluntary intention to step down.”
