Wednesday 25th, September 2024 was a date with destiny when the new crop of Commissioners for the Public Complaints Commission, the Nigerian Ombudsman, headed by the Chief Commissioner, Hon. Bashir Abubakar was inaugurated at the National Assembly Complex, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja by the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Right Hon. Tajudeen Abbas.
Among the 37 Federal Commissioners inaugurated on the occasion was Hon. Morakinyo OgoOluwa Akinleye who reported for duties at the Federal Secretariat Complex, Oke Mosan Abeokuta Headquarters of the Commission on Wednesday 2nd October 2024 with a burning desire to promote the Commission’s mandate of ensuring social justice for the citizenry.
Acting on the saying of the Holy Book “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might”, Hon. Morakinyo Akinleye poured his energy into the task of repositioning the Public Complaints Commission in Ogun State, towards defending the rights of residents, regardless of their status.
His first phase of interventions involved giving the Commission’s offices a facelift, beginning at the headquarters, while also initiating measures to strengthen the human and material resources necessary for the PCC’s mission of promoting effective and efficient service with the responsibility of responding to the needs of citizens through investigation and resolution of complaints against the Federal, State, Local Governments and Public Corporations as well as Private Sector Organizations and their Officials.
The measures introduced by Hon. Akinleye to reposition the PCC in Ogun State included a comprehensive staff audit, ensuring regular management deliberations/case conferences, securing additional office space and restoring power generation to the headquarters, creation of the Electricity Complaints Desk and appointment of Desk Officers, mounting of the PCC Sign Posts at strategic locations as well as the production of awareness jingles for broadcast and visitation of the Commission’s Area offices.
The PCC Federal Commissioner introduced measures and activated the necessary machinery to enhance public awareness and sensitize the people to the Commission’s readiness to provide impartial investigation and solution on behalf of any aggrieved citizen, who might be affected by the actions or inactions of the government at different levels or that of private companies.
To achieve the aim of getting the people informed, Hon. Akinleye, within the first three months in office, embarked on the task of enlisting the support of stakeholders through aggressive advocacy and visits to notable individuals across the state, including the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the Ogun State Deputy Governor, Engr. Noimot Salako – Oyedele, the Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Oludaisi Elemide, the State Chief Judge, Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu and former Governor Gbenga Daniel.
The Federal Commissioner equally took the crusade of Public Complaints Commission to the palaces of traditional rulers, he sought audience with the Alake and Paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, he visited the Olubara of Ibara, Oba Jacob Olufemi Omolade, he met with the Akarigbo and Paramount ruler of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Adewale Ajayi, and the Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi Abdulkabir Obalanlege among other monarchs.
He was also the guest of many religious heads like the Bishop of Egba Anglican Diocese and State Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, the Reverend Emmanuel Oludaisi Adekunle as well as the Ven. Sup. Evangelists O. J Tallon and Albert Popoola, the State Evangelist and the Egba Regional Head, Celestial Church of Christ at Ijaye and Ibara respectively while the Federal Commissioner also addressed the Muslim community at the Central Mosque, Kobiti, Abeokuta, during a visit to the Chief Imam of Egbaland, Alhaji Muhammed Sa’ad Bamgbola.
Hon. Akinleye did not leave out the Heads of Security Agencies among other Institutions and opinion leaders like the Department of State Services, the Nigerian Police Force, the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, the Vice Chancellor, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, the Chief Medical Director, Federal Medical Centre, Idi Aba, Abeokuta and the Odole Oodua, Chief Kessington Adebutu.
The Ogun State Federal Commissioner was also a guest of many media organizations in the state where he continued to display his prowess in educating his diverse audiences about the services offered by the Public Complaints Commission emphasizing that the staff had been adequately empowered to assist the people in ensuring social justice through efficient Service Delivery with Integrity, Accountability and Diligence as trademarks of Public Complaints Commission being the machinery for the control of administrative excesses, particularly non- adherence to procedures or abuse of law.
He re-echoed the commitment of the PCC as an organ of the government set up to redress complaints lodged by aggrieved citizens or residents in Nigeria against administrative injustice, emphasizing that the Commission remained independent of government interference in its mandate, operations, structure, function and appearance, without bias to the complainant or the respondent and would respect the confidentiality of Complainants, except in cases where such could pose imminent risk or danger to parties involved.
For the Ogun State Ombudsman, there is light at the end of the tunnel for the PCC with more citizens becoming aware of its existence as evident in the record of 55 complaints during his first 100 days in office with the breakdown as 25 against private organizations/interpersonal issues while 30 complaints were received against government establishments and the case management process for most of the complaints was at the resolving stage.
