Tinubu's 18-month extension for the prisons chief cites no law. The 2019 Act's tenure clause ends the post at five years, 60 or 35 years' service

On Monday 19 October the Presidency announced that President Bola Tinubu had approved "18-month tenure extensions" for Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche, Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, and Kemi Nanna Nandap, Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service. Nwakuche's tenure "will now end on May 26, 2028" and Nandap's "on June 30, 2028". Vero Record set the statement against the law that created the Correctional Service, the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019, and against the Presidency's own statement of 31 March 2025 on Nandap's first extension. The Act's tenure clause sets a fixed end to the Controller-General's time in office. The statement does not cite that clause or any other provision of law.

The statement, issued by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, gives one reason. The approval "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." It records that the President nominated Nwakuche in December 2024 and that the Senate confirmed him in March 2025, and that Nandap was nominated on 21 February 2024 and confirmed on 1 March 2024. It does not give the dates on which either tenure would have ended without the extension.

Section 4(3) of the Correctional Service Act reads: "The person appointed to the office of the Controller-General shall hold office for a single term of five years or on attainment of the mandatory retirement age of 60 or 35 years in service, whichever comes first." The copy Vero Record read is the authenticated text certified by the Clerk to the National Assembly on 19 July 2019 and assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari on 31 July 2019, as published by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre.

Sections 3 to 6 of the Act, which deal with the Controller-General's appointment, powers, tenure and removal, contain no provision for extending a tenure. Section 3(1) says the President "shall appoint the Controller-General" "on the recommendation of the Board" and "subject to confirmation by the Senate", and section 3(2) says the appointment "shall be from serving Assistant Controllers-General". Section 6 protects the holder from removal "during the subsisting tenure" except on a report of gross misconduct or incapacity investigated by the Board.

The dates point to which limit is at work. Nwakuche was nominated in December 2024. A single five-year term counted from that month would run to December 2029 at the earliest. The new end date, 26 May 2028, is about 19 months before that. An 18-month extension that ends on 26 May 2028 implies an earlier end date of 26 November 2026. On the Act's wording, a tenure ending before the five-year term is one ended by the age of 60 or by 35 years in service, whichever came first. That is Vero Record's reading of the dates. Neither the statement nor any record Vero Record found gives Nwakuche's date of birth or the date he joined the service, so which of the two limits applies, and when, is not established.

The Presidency's statement of 31 March 2025 gives fuller dates for Nandap. It says she "began her career in the Nigeria Immigration Service on October 9, 1989", that the President "appointed her as Comptroller-General on March 1, 2024, to serve till August 31, 2025", and that the President approved an extension "through December 31, 2026". Monday's 18 months run from that date to 30 June 2028. Together the two extensions add 34 months to the term first announced: 16 months from 31 August 2025 to 31 December 2026, and 18 months from 31 December 2026 to 30 June 2028.

Counted from the date the Presidency gives for the start of her career, Nandap reached 35 years of service on 9 October 2024, seven months and eight days after she took office as Comptroller-General. On 30 June 2028 she will have served 38 years, eight months and 21 days. Her appointment is governed by the Immigration Act 2015, not the Correctional Service Act. Vero Record did not obtain an authenticated copy of the Immigration Act, so this report does not say what limit, if any, that Act sets on the Comptroller-General's tenure, or whether a 35-year rule applies to her post.

The record also supports the government on several points. The Correctional Service Act gives the power to appoint the Controller-General to the President, and the sections read do not expressly forbid an extension. The statement's stated purpose, giving time to choose successors, is consistent with section 3, which requires a successor to be drawn from serving Assistant Controllers-General, recommended by the Board and confirmed by the Senate. Both officers were confirmed by the Senate when first appointed. No court has ruled on either extension, and nothing in these records suggests any wrongdoing by Nwakuche or Nandap.

The two documents also differ in wording. The Act gives the recommending role for the Controller-General's appointment to "the Board" and the appointment itself to the President, subject to Senate confirmation. The statement says the extension "followed a recommendation by the Minister of Interior" and that the board would "appoint successors". The records Vero Record read do not show whether the Board considered the extensions, or whether the Minister's recommendation was made through it.

The open legal question is the one the statement does not address: by what power a tenure that section 4(3) ends on a fixed event, "whichever comes first", can be extended by presidential approval, and whether an extended term requires Senate confirmation as the original appointment did. The Presidency's statement names no section of the Act, no provision of the Public Service Rules and no other instrument.

These questions are for the Presidency and the Federal Ministry of Interior, which recommended the extensions. This report will be updated if either sets out the legal basis.

What this rests on

State House statement 'President Tinubu extends tenures of heads of Correctional and Immigration Services', Bayo Onanuga, 19 October 2026, read on statehouse.gov.ng and saved on 20 October 2026. State House statement 'President Tinubu approves tenure extension for Comptroller-General of Immigration Kemi Nanna Nandap', Bayo Onanuga, 31 March 2025, read and saved on 20 October 2026. Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019, authenticated copy (Clerk to the National Assembly's certificate dated 19 July 2019, presidential assent 31 July 2019), PDF pp.5 and 6 (ss.3 to 7) and pp.35 and 36 (certificate, schedule and assent), scanned PDF downloaded from placng.org and read from the page images. Sums: Nwakuche, 26 May 2028 minus 18 months = 26 November 2026 (implied earlier end date; the statement does not state it). A five-year term from December 2024 ends December 2029; 26 May 2028 to December 2029 is about 19 months. Nandap: 9 October 1989 plus 35 years = 9 October 2024. 1 March 2024 to 9 October 2024 = 7 months and 8 days. First extension 31 August 2025 to 31 December 2026 = 16 months; second 31 December 2026 to 30 June 2028 = 18 months; 16 + 18 = 34 months, matching the 18 months the 2026 statement announces. 9 October 1989 to 9 June 2028 = 38 years 8 months; 9 June to 30 June 2028 = 21 days; total 38 years, 8 months and 21 days.

What this does not establish

Nwakuche's date of birth and date of entry into the service, and so whether the age of 60 or 35 years in service sets his original end date, and the exact original date (26 November 2026 is derived, not stated). What the Immigration Act 2015 says about the Comptroller-General's tenure; an authenticated copy was not obtained. Whether any other instrument, such as the Public Service Rules or a presidential directive, provides for these extensions; the statement cites none and Vero Record did not find one. Whether the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board considered the extensions, and whether the Senate was or will be asked to confirm them. Whether the rest of the 36-page Act, beyond sections 3 to 7 and the schedules read, contains a provision bearing on tenure extension. No court has ruled on the extensions, and nothing here suggests wrongdoing by either officer.