‘I Believe in Merit, Do What Is Right’,  Tinubu tells NCC Boss Maida

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has backed Aminu Maida, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), encouraging him to continue to “do what is right.” Maida, who also doubles as the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, is facing pushback from staff who failed to meet the pass mark in a recent promotion […]

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has backed Aminu Maida, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), encouraging him to continue to “do what is right.”

Maida, who also doubles as the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, is facing pushback from staff who failed to meet the pass mark in a recent promotion exercise.

The inability to meet a 70% cut-off mark has spiraled into open allegations of favoritism, fraud, and ethnic bias by the aggrieved staff.

The promotion exercise, which took place in March 2025, continues to generate interest, with the affected workers forming a group known as the “Concerned Staff of the Nigerian Communications Commission” to press their demands.

However, while Maida has not publicly engaged with the workers, he has taken the matter to President Bola Tinubu and secured his backing.

Sam Omatseye, chairman of The Nation Newspaper Editorial Board, made the disclosure.

According to Omatseye, in an article titled “One Day With President Tinubu,” he witnessed Maida’s discussion with the President on the issue.

“He held meetings. I observed comings and goings like a fly on the wall. One was from Aminu Maida, who wanted the President’s backing on recent hirings. He was under political pressure to replace merit with corruption. ‘I believe in merit. Do what is right,’ said Tinubu,” Omatseye recounted in the article published in The Nation on May 26, 2025.

The development adds to ongoing controversies at the NCC regarding the promotion of 239 staff members—an unfolding situation marked by contrasting claims from both sides.

While the aggrieved staff allege that the promotions favor those already selected for elite foreign trainings and conferences—most notably at Harvard University and the London School of Economics—the Commission’s leadership insists that the federal government’s cost-cutting measures have imposed financial discipline, forcing a reduction in perks like foreign training and travel. Instead, the Commission says it prioritizes staff welfare, including salaries, allowances, and benefits.

Although the affected staff allege a unilateral raising of the promotion exercise pass mark from the statutory 60% to 70%, findings revealed that it is not the first time the Commission has set a pass mark of 70%—it has been the benchmark for the past five years.

A geopolitical representation of staff after the 2025 promotion exercise reads: South East – 25.74%, South South – 16.91%, South West – 16.91%, North Central – 13.97%, North West – 13.24%, and North East – 13.24%.