A fresh leadership crisis has erupted at the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA), with conflicting claims over who legitimately heads the federal agency despite a presidential announcement naming a new chief executive.
At the centre of the controversy is Dr. Dakorinama Alabo George, a former Rivers State Commissioner for Works and an ally of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who continues to function as the agency’s Executive Secretary weeks after the Presidency announced his replacement with former House of Representatives member, Abdulrazak Sa’ad Namdas.
The development has triggered concerns within government circles and raised questions about compliance with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive requiring all political appointees seeking elective office in the 2027 general elections to resign from their positions.
President Tinubu had ordered such appointees to vacate office on or before March 31, 2026, in line with Section 88(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) timetable for party primaries.
George was reportedly among those affected by the directive after allegedly resigning to pursue the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket in Rivers State. He was listed among aspirants screened by the party and was reportedly cleared to contest before later withdrawing from the race ahead of the primaries.
However, despite the Presidency's announcement of his replacement, George has remained in office, fueling speculation of a power struggle within the agency.
In a statement issued on June 26, 2026, Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga announced the appointment of Namdas as the new head of the BCDA, stating that he was replacing George, who had resigned to contest an elective position in Rivers State.
The statement described Namdas, a former lawmaker who represented Ganye/Jada/Mayo Belwa/Toungo Federal Constituency of Adamawa State, as a seasoned journalist and former spokesperson of the 8th House of Representatives. It further noted that all appointments announced by the President took immediate effect.
Despite this declaration, sources familiar with the matter alleged that George never formally handed over the agency's affairs and continued to exercise authority within the BCDA.
According to insiders, George quietly retained control of official assets and resumed activities at the agency after withdrawing from the APC governorship contest.
The situation has become more controversial following reports that some of his supporters circulated claims on social media suggesting that President Tinubu had reversed his replacement and reinstated him as Executive Secretary of the agency.
One of the posts claimed that the President had corrected what it described as an "erroneous replacement" and restored George to office. However, the Presidency has firmly denied any such reversal.
Responding to inquiries, Onanuga dismissed the reports and reaffirmed that Namdas remains the substantive head of the agency.
“Not true. Namdas stays,” the presidential spokesman stated.
In a separate twist, George reportedly maintained in a now-deleted WhatsApp message that he never resigned from office and therefore could not have been replaced on that basis.
According to the message, George insisted that he withdrew from the governorship race before the APC primaries and never officially resigned from the BCDA.
“The Presidency through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation will be in a better position to answer you. At no time did I resign. I never contested because I withdrew before the primaries,” he reportedly wrote before deleting the message.
However, the Presidency has not indicated any change to Namdas’ appointment.
Further complicating the situation is the fact that George continues to appear publicly as the head of the agency. His profile remains listed on the BCDA’s official website as the serving Executive Secretary, while reports indicate that he has continued to attend official meetings on behalf of the agency.
Among such engagements was a recent meeting with the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, during which he reportedly sought the timely release of funds allocated to the agency in the 2026 budget.
During the meeting, George was quoted as commending President Tinubu for approving a ₦50 billion allocation to the BCDA and stressing the importance of prompt funding to accelerate infrastructure development in Nigeria’s border communities.
The unfolding dispute comes amid growing scrutiny of federal appointments and follows recent controversies surrounding the alleged operations of a so-called Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, whose purported Director-General status had also attracted public attention.
With George still occupying the office and the Presidency insisting that Namdas is the duly appointed head of the agency, the BCDA now finds itself in an unusual situation where two individuals are effectively laying claim to the same leadership position, setting the stage for what observers describe as a deepening institutional crisis.
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