President Bola Tinubu has ordered the automatic employment of the four children of the late Federal Capital Territory Head of Service, Grace Adayilo, who died on Monday, September 1st, 2025.
Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, announced the appointments on Saturday at the funeral service for the late Adayilo at the National Christian Centre in Abuja.
Adayilo, born on June 21, 1956, died on September 1, 2025, aged 57, after a brief illness.
She served as the first female and indigenous HoS of the FCT Civil Service Commission, appointed by Tinubu in October 2024.
Speaking during the service, Wike stated that Tinubu approved the appointment for the children, as the late HoS was the family’s breadwinner before her demise.
“Her children have no job. She was everything for them, for the family. On behalf of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. President, we want to say sorry. Accept our condolences to your family, to the children, and to the extended family.
“And to let you know that we want to identify with you, Mr. President has directed me to give the four children automatic employment. Because Mr. President understands that now there is no breadwinner, how will they survive?
“I hear the daughter is doing her youth service in Port Harcourt. Don’t worry, the luck of Port Harcourt will follow you,” he said.
Wike also applauded her service in the FCT administration, describing her as a committed, humble, and loyal public servant and a good mother.
“I’ve never seen somebody who loves her profession. She will come to me, ‘Honorable Minister, you know that we are civil servants. These are the kinds of things that you will do that they will appreciate, and they will continue to work hard.’
“She does not joke with regular payment of salaries and other entitlements. She was a good mother. She felt so much for her people, and that’s what it’s supposed to be,” the minister said.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
