By Chris Ochayi & Fortune Eromosele

ABUJA: A coalition of civil society organizations has condemned the fake news making the rounds, allegedly aimed at tarnishing the image of the Comptroller General of Federal

, FFS, Dr. Ibrahim Liman.

Operating under the aegis of the New Era for Sustainable Leadership and Accountability Initiative and Integrity Advocacy for Development Initiative, NESLAI, the group berated a news medium (not Vanguard) for publishing falsehood against the person of the Comptroller General.

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The group accused the medium of  refusing to conduct a thorough investigation into the accusation that the extension of the Comptroller’s tenure by 18 months which was recently granted by President Mohammadu Buhari is criminally intended to keep the current Comptroller in office to raise funds for what they alluded as a senatorial ticket at the 2023 general elections.

Some of the preposterous claims were the refusal of the Comptroller to retire, and also that he had served for 44 years in service, but speaking in Abuja, the Convener, Mr. Yinka Sotade, said after a thorough investigation, it was discovered that Dr. Ibrahim Liman Alhaji who was born in 1960, joined the Federal Fire Service at age 26 years in 1986.

He added that the civil service rules and financial procedures only permit every civil servant to serve for a maximum of 35 years after which he/she is retired.

He maintained that, “mathematically, this means that any federal civil servant who was employed in 1986 like the CG is expected to serve till December 2021, except for other grounds like health challenges, dismissal, compulsory retirement, or death.

“The above clarification suffices to inform the entire public for which this piece of fake news is intended to misinform. The Comptroller General of the Federal Fire Service is expected to retire as of December 2021.

According to him, “It is however imperative to set the records right about the accused extension with a presidential approval for 18 months of Dr. Ibrahim Liman Alhaji’s tenure which makes his new date of retirement as the Controller General (CG) Federal Fire Service shift from December 2021(Regular exit date) to June 2022 (extended exit date).

“For the sake of clarity, and without attempting to be a mouthpiece for the President Buhari led government, it is crystal clear and verifiable that since 1963 when the Federal Fire Service was established by an act of the parliament’s, the service under its current leadership has witnessed an array of landslide achievements and operational improvement like never in the past.

“Globally, in every area and sector of life and economy, result-oriented leaderships are needed, identified, applauded, encouraged and given the opportunity to advance the good work. We then suspect that the tenure extension may not be unconnected to the great strides achieved by the service under the current leadership.

“We are aghast at certain claims that the current Comptroller-General of the Federal Fire Service is contesting for a senatorial seat at the 2023 general elections, more so the claims that the information is from a credible source.

“For the sake of clarification, the electoral act- process and procedures of Nigeria do not recognize any political aspiration or candidacy until it is subject, ratified, or duly conferred by a process of internal democracy from any of the approved and recognized political parties.

“To this extent, the assertions in this light is just mere speculation or at best a forecast which ethically is not correct for public consumption except for a deliberate intention to blackmail the Comptroller-General, or to mislead the public.”