18/05/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/18n95KQLXe/
PRESS RELEASE
18th May, 2026
ASUBEB’S FSLC AGE DISCREPANCY JUSTIFICATION: A DANGEROUS PRECEDENT OF SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT, ADMINISTRATIVE INJUSTICE, ERRONEOUS RETIREMENT, AND TARGETED VICTIMIZATION
The Centre for Human Rights Advocacy and Wholesome Society (CEHRAWS) expresses grave concern and profound dissatisfaction over the purported justification advanced by the Abia State Universal Basic Education Board (ASUBEB) for the forceful retirement of Mrs. Nwokocha Esther U., an Assistant Chief Education Officer of Aba South Local Government Education Authority (LGEA), allegedly based on discrepancies surrounding the age reflected in her First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC).
Following earlier petitions and interventions made by CEHRAWS to the management of ASUBEB and the Office of the Head of Service, Abia State, including public advocacy through media engagements, the Board has now allegedly anchored its action on the claim that Mrs. Nwokocha obtained her FSLC at the age of eleven (11), which it now considers irregular and sufficient ground for her premature retirement before attaining the statutory retirement age of sixty (60) years.
CEHRAWS considers this explanation not only legally weak, administratively defective, and fundamentally unconvincing, but also incapable of addressing the more critical issues already raised concerning the apparent erroneous retirement of the officer, her official redeployment, and the continued withholding of her salaries and entitlements while she remained legally and administratively in service.
Most importantly, the flimsy justification advanced by ASUBEB failed to address the confirmation reportedly made by the Aba South Local Government Education Authority acknowledging the erroneous nature of the retirement and the subsequent redeployment of Mrs. Nwokocha back into service. The Board equally failed to explain why her salaries, allowances, and other lawful entitlements allegedly remained unpaid despite her continued status as a serving officer within the system.
This omission raises serious concerns regarding transparency, administrative consistency, accountability, and possible institutional victimization.
A CLEAR CASE OF SELECTIVE APPLICATION OF STANDARDS
The most disturbing aspect of this matter is the glaring allegation that numerous serving and retired officers within the education system possess similar or even more questionable educational age records, yet were never subjected to compulsory retirement, disciplinary action, or administrative sanctions.
If indeed ASUBEB now considers FSLC age discrepancies a valid ground for compulsory retirement, then fairness, equity, and constitutional principles of equal treatment demand that such standards be uniformly applied across board and not selectively weaponized against one individual.
Selective enforcement of administrative standards undermines public confidence in governance, weakens institutional integrity, and creates the unmistakable impression of a targeted witch-hunt rather than a sincere reform process.
LONG YEARS OF ACCEPTANCE CANNOT SUDDENLY BECOME A BASIS FOR PUNISHMENT
It is equally disturbing that throughout the entirety of Mrs. Nwokocha’s years in service:
✓ Her credentials were accepted during recruitment;
✓ Her records passed official verification exercises;
✓ Her promotions were processed and duly approved;
✓ Her salaries and entitlements were consistently paid over the years;
✓ Her service records remained valid and officially recognized by the same government authorities now seeking to invalidate them.
At no point during her decades of service was this alleged discrepancy treated as misconduct, fraud, forgery, or any disqualifying irregularity.
Administrative law and the doctrine of legitimate expectation strongly frown upon a situation where government institutions rely upon, validate, and benefit from an employee’s records for decades, only to suddenly repudiate those same records at the twilight of service without any proven allegation of fraud, falsification, or criminal intent.
FAILURE TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF ERRONEOUS RETIREMENT AND REDEPLOYMENT
Beyond the questionable FSLC excuse, ASUBEB has conspicuously failed to address the fundamental administrative contradictions surrounding this matter.
CEHRAWS is particularly concerned that:
✓ The alleged erroneous retirement of Mrs. Nwokocha was reportedly acknowledged at the Aba South LGEA level;
✓ The affected officer was allegedly redeployed back into service;
✓ Yet her salaries, allowances, and accrued entitlements allegedly remained withheld despite her continued service status.
These unresolved issues strike at the heart of procedural fairness and administrative accountability.
If indeed the retirement was erroneous enough to warrant redeployment, then the continued refusal to fully restore the victim’s financial and employment rights raises troubling questions about institutional bad faith, abuse of administrative discretion, and deliberate economic victimization.
Public institutions cannot approbate and reprobate simultaneously by recognizing an employee as being in service while denying such employee the lawful benefits attached to that service.
A DANGEROUS AND DISCRIMINATORY PRECEDENT
CEHRAWS is deeply worried that if this rationale is allowed to stand unchecked, thousands of civil servants across Nigeria may become vulnerable to arbitrary retirement, selective targeting, retrospective punishment, and institutional intimidation based on historical educational records long accepted and validated by the state.
Such actions offend the foundational principles of:
✓ Fair hearing;
✓ Equality before the law;
✓ Protection against discriminatory treatment;
✓ Rules of natural justice;
✓ Legitimate expectation in public service administration.
No civil servant should become a victim of retrospective administrative punishment arising from inconsistent, discriminatory, or selectively enforced standards.
OUR DEMANDS
1. The Abia State Government: We call on the Abia State Government to immediately review the circumstances surrounding the compulsory retirement of Mrs. Nwokocha Esther U. and ensure that justice, equity, due process, and administrative fairness prevail.
2. The Head of Service and ASUBEB: We further demand that the Office of the Head of Service and ASUBEB publicly clarify:
✓ Whether there exists any officially approved policy mandating compulsory retirement solely on the basis of FSLC age discrepancies;
✓ Whether such policy has been uniformly implemented across all affected personnel within the state civil service;
✓ Why similar records allegedly existing among other officers were ignored while Mrs. Nwokocha was singled out;
✓ Why the issue of the acknowledged erroneous retirement and subsequent redeployment was omitted from ASUBEB’s justification;
✓ Why the victim’s salaries and entitlements allegedly remain unpaid despite her redeployment and continued service status.
3. Relevant Anti-Corruption and Public Service Oversight Agencies: We call on all relevant oversight and anti-corruption agencies to investigate allegations of selective enforcement, abuse of administrative powers, wrongful withholding of salaries and entitlements, discriminatory treatment, and possible institutional victimization within the system.
CEHRAWS’ POSITION
CEHRAWS remains firmly committed to the protection of civil servants against arbitrary administrative actions, discriminatory treatment, abuse of institutional authority, economic victimization, and violations of due process.
We reiterate that disciplinary and retirement procedures within the civil service must always be guided by:
✓ Law;
✓ Due process;
✓ Consistency;
✓ Transparency;
✓ Equity;
✓ Fair administrative practice.
Public institutions must never be permitted to operate on selective standards, administrative vendetta, or discriminatory enforcement.
CONCLUSION
This matter transcends one individual. It raises broader concerns regarding fairness, integrity, accountability, consistency, and respect for the rule of law within public service administration in Abia State.
CEHRAWS shall continue to monitor developments closely and pursue all lawful advocacy, institutional, and legal measures necessary to ensure that justice is neither compromised nor selectively administered.
The rule of law demands fairness for all, not punishment for a chosen few.
Signed:
Okoye, Chuka Peter
Executive Director
Centre for Human Rights Advocacy and Wholesome Society (CEHRAWS)
[email protected] | +2348035529865
Facebook: Cehraws
