Ambassador Adamu Ibrahim Lamuwa, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nigeria, has denied allegations of sexual harassment made by Mrs. Simisola O. Fajemirokun-Ajayi, an aide to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar.
Lamuwa claims these allegations are an attempt to damage his reputation.
Mrs. Fajemirokun-Ajayi, through her lawyers, accused Lamuwa of sexual harassment, abuse of office, and intimidation at her workplace.
In response, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, wrote a complaint to the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, requesting action against Lamuwa.
Lamuwa’s legal team, led by Audu Anuga (SAN), denies any inappropriate behaviour towards Mrs. Fajemirokun-Ajayi, stating that the conflict arose from Lamuwa’s insistence on financial prudence and due process.
They argue that friendly conversations with the aide were misinterpreted maliciously.
The legal response highlights specific incidents, including a Ministry retreat on October 7, 2023, where Mrs. Fajemirokun-Ajayi claimed Lamuwa invited her to his room.
Lamuwa denies this, stating he merely checked on all participants’ lodging, adding that an everyday conversation about her being a nursing mother was misinterpreted.
The statement also denies allegations of Lamuwa inviting Mrs. Fajemirokun-Ajayi to Hong Kong. He explained that their discussion was about Hong Kong’s digitalisation of work processes, not an invitation to travel.
Lamuwa’s legal team suggests that these allegations stem from Mrs. Fajemirokun-Ajayi’s dissatisfaction with his objections to her improper financial requests. For instance, she sought reimbursement for an unapproved trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, which Lamuwa denied, stating it was against appropriate processes.
The Permanent Secretary’s response through his legal representative led by Audu Anuga (SAN) partly reads:
“We wish to state categorically that our client has never made any sexual advances towards Mrs. Simisola O. Fajemirokun-Ajayi, who he is aware is a married woman, neither has he ever made suggestive comments or innuendos that requested any form of untoward relationship between himself and her.
“Our client distinctly recalls the events that took place at the Ministry’s Retreat on October 7th 2023 where Mrs Simisola O. Fajemirokun-Ajayi claims that he invited her to his room. Our client states categorically that he never made such an invitation and that his only communication with Mrs Fajemirokun-Ajayi, which was an overt one, was where he checked on her, like he did to all participants on whether they had been well-lodged in their hotels.
“He further recalls that the instance where he spoke of her as a nursing mother, during the same retreat was in a colloquial conversation they were having with other participants, where one participant even responded jokingly that when a woman says “her baby” it could mean either her husband or one of her children, of which he innocuously joked asking “how big is the baby?” Our client maintains that those conversations were made jokingly and sees their misinterpretation as malicious and with ill-intent,” the statement noted.
“Our client also maintains that it is an absurdity for Mrs. Fajemirokun-Ajayi to claim that he invited her to Hong Kong, given that the conversation they were both having was on how Hong Kong had digitised its work processes as far back as 1999.
“Our client wonders how such a conversation became interpreted as an invitation for her to travel alongside himself knowing fully well that she is an aide to the Minister. How can she possibly leave the Minister to follow the Permanent Secretary, on a vacation? Would that not be the height of delusion for the one requesting, as well as the one heeding the request?”
“It is clear that the Minister’s aide has misinterpreted ordinary conversations, made openly and in the presence of other participants, for untoward intentions. We believe that these allegations are directly tied to our client’s firm objections raised regarding improper requests that Mrs Fajemirokun-Ajayi made, particularly regarding financial matters in the Ministry.
“For example, Mrs. Fajemirokun-Ajayi made a trip to the World Economic Forum (Davos), of which she sought a reimbursement from the Ministry for. Our client firmly explained to her that while the Ministry may look at avenues to refund her expenses, it is not the appropriate process for a trip to be made without an approval, and then funded with taxpayers money after the fact.”
“Further to this, is the fact of Mrs Fajemirokun-Ajayi’s unfamiliarity with Civil Service rules and processes where she had requested from our client access to Policy Files and even Financial Records of high-level activities of the Ministry.
“By no means, should the Permanent Secretary, as chief accounting officer of the Ministry, provide such sensitive documents to an aide of the Minister, worse via a WhatsApp chat. There are due processes in government, and they must be followed.
“We must emphasise that Mrs Fajemirokun-Ajayi is a political appointee and not a civil servant. Thus, matters of finance and policy are out of bounds for her in this instance.
“All these, seem to have angered Mrs Simisola O. Fajemirokun-Ajayi, so much that she has taken her offence to the level of concocting stories in order to tarnish our client’s image and character.”