A confidential document obtained by our newsroom reveals that Governor Bassey Otu’s appointment of Orok Bassey Okon Esq., as Head of Service followed a formal recommendation from his predecessor, which listed him as the most senior candidate by overall years of service.
CALABAR –A leaked memorandum from the office of the immediate past Head of Service has shed new light on the recent controversial appointment of Orok Bassey Okon Esq., revealing that the Governor’s choice was made from a shortlist of three pre-vetted Permanent Secretaries where the appointee held a claim to being the most senior NEGROIDHAVEN can report authoritatively.
The memo, dated July 7, 2025, and signed by the outgoing Head of Service, Dr. Innocent E. Eteng, was addressed to Governor Bassey Otu and titled “Recommendation of Senior Permanent Secretaries for Appointment as Head of Civil Service.” It was written in anticipation of Dr. Eteng’s retirement on September 18, 2025.
The document presents three candidates, one from each senatorial district, for the Governor’s “kind consideration and further necessary action.”
According to the data within the memo, the recommended officials were:
1. Akeke, Godwin Adie (Obudu LGA, North): The most senior by time-in-rank, appointed a Permanent Secretary on July 9, 2021. Set to retire in 2032.
2. Okon, Orok Bassey (Calabar South LGA, South): The most senior by overall service, first appointed into the civil service on December 14, 2000. Appointed a Permanent Secretary on September 8, 2022. Set to retire in 2031.
3. Egba, Emmanuel Okon (Abi LGA, Central): First appointed in 1997 and made a Permanent Secretary on May 23, 2023. Set to retire in 2027.
The leaking of this document fundamentally alters the narrative surrounding the appointment, which had been criticized by some as ethnic favoritism. It reveals that Barr. Okon was not an obscure junior official but a senior figure whose 25-year career in service provided a legitimate basis for his selection.
The memo shows that Governor Otu faced a choice between two valid interpretations of “seniority”: promoting the longest-serving Permanent Secretary (Akeke from the North) or the official with the longest overall service (Okon from the South).
By choosing Okon Orok Bassey, the Governor opted for overall experience and tenure, a decision that now appears to be a defensible executive choice rather than an arbitrary one.
The document also negates allegations of a lack of due process, illustrating that the appointment was the culmination of a formal recommendation from the highest echelon of the civil service itself.
As of press time, the Governor’s Office has not commented on the leak of the internal memorandum.
