Why Jonathan dumped Onoja as FRSC boss

Why Jonathan dumped Onoja as FRSC boss

By Joe Nwankwo /  Assistant Editor, Abuja daily independent

More facts have emerged on why President Goodluck Jonathan dumped Major General Lawrence Onoja as the candidate to fill the post of the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and settled for Boboye Oyeyemi, to take over from Osita Chidioka, who has since resumed duties as Minister of Aviation.
According to a reliable source who spoke to Saturday Independent on the condition of anonymity, the President bowed to pressure from Chidioka and the Governing Board of the FRSC to pick Oyeyemi, who is the most senior Deputy Corps Marshal, to encourage continuity and stave off bad blood, which was witnessed when Chiodika was first appointed in 2007 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
His words: “Everything was set for Onoja to emerge the new Corps Marshal, but the arguments by Chidioka and the members of the board pulled the rug from under his feet, as the President was convinced that appointing the replacement from the rank of the Deputy Corps Marshals would promote excellence and encourage the staff to work hard.
“It was also their argument that the appointment of the new Corps Marshal from the FRSC would encourage the building of a strong system as is obtained in other para-military organisations, where everybody is assured if getting to the peak.
Furthermore, he said, “Majority of the opinions were that the government should appoint the new Corps Marshal from the crop of Deputy Corps Marshals and Assistant Corps Marshals who worked under Chidoka and have learnt the ropes, in line with what is obtainable from other para-military organisations in the country that have their line of succession based on seniority.”
Since the establishment if the FRSC in 1988, only the pioneer Corps Marshal, Dr. Olu Agunloye, and the pioneer Chairman, Prof. Wole Soyinka, could be said to have come from within.
The other substantive Corps Marshals, Major-General Halafi Hananiyan, who served from 1993 to 2003, and Chidioka, 2007 to 2014, were appointed from outside the corps.
Boboye Oyeyemi also urged officers and men of the FRSC to perceive this development as encouraging for the growth of the FRSC as obtained in other Para-Military agencies.
According to him, “This seamless transition will no doubt, provide the impetus for career progression in the FRSC as every staff will have the opportunity to get to the peak of his career”.