Olumode Samuel, controller-general (CG) of the Federal Fire Service (FFS), has congratulated the newly decorated deputy controller-generals, including Ijeoma Okidi, the service’s first female DCG.

At the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo presented the recently promoted officials with decorations.

According to Tunji-Ojo, the appointments were approved by the president and were made in accordance with the Federal Character Commission’s rules, taking into account seniority, merit, and an independent evaluation.

According to the minister, career stagnation in the paramilitary services has been eliminated under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

A record of 88 percent of the more than 52,000 officers who were promoted were elevated from assistant controller-generals to deputy controller-generals, he said.

He asked the new officers to be disciplined, honest, cooperative, and Nigerian.

Additionally, he requested their complete cooperation with their individual controller generals.

The officers are Kehinde Ajasa, Okidi, the first female firefighter to achieve the DCG level, and Muazu Tambari Aliyu.

The head of the Senate committee on the interior, Adams Oshiomhole, praised the officers for their devotion to the country and called the event “amazing and worth emulating.”

Following the ceremony, for the first time in the service’s history, the fire chief gave the decorated DCGs official automobiles to drive.

According to the CG, the cars represented more accountability and a call for excellent leadership.

In order to establish the fire department as a leader among paramilitary organisations, he urged the officers to proudly wear their new ranks and produce outcomes.