On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu was given a mildly dramatic order by Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), ordering the Permanent Secretaries in his ministry to bow.
At the official opening of the N20 arterial route in Abuja, which bears Wole Soyinka’s name as a Nobel laureate, Wike issued the directive.
To express gratitude for their appointments, the minister gave the Permanent Secretaries an order to get up from their seats and bow down to Tinubu.
The audience burst out laughing at Wike’s instruction.
In his speech, Wike stated: “Most of them have never dreamt in their lives that they will ever get to the peak of their careers.
“So if you permit me, I don’t know those beneficiaries, the permanent secretaries, I don’t know whether they are here. Come out, come out.
“You are the beneficiary here, come out. You are supposed to be the agent of renewed hope. Come out, come out.
“Both women, both men, everyone, face here and take a bow before Mr. President. The lucky ones. Your Excellency, these are the first set of permanent secretaries that you made.
“Head of service, are you not a permanent secretary? And that is their head of service. These are the technical teams now that we have. So I want to sincerely thank you.
“For them to be head of service, it was not available. But now you have made it available. I know some of their pastors who have been praying for them.”
