The Director of Information and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), Dr. Joel Oruche, is due to retire from the Federal Civil Service of the Federation after over thirty years of meritorious service to the nation.
Dr Oruche, who joined service on 30th January 1992, will retire on the 29th of July, 2025, after attaining the mandatory age of sixty.
He assumed duty as Director of Information in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in April 2022.
Dr. Oruche has serviced in different MDAs, as Press Secretary/Resident Information Officer including Ecological Project Office, Federal Civil Service Commission, NEPAD, and Ministry of Defence.
According to a statement by Ezeaja Ikemefuna, Assistant Director (Information) of FMAFS, “in his tour of duty, Dr. Oruche made significant contributions towards publicizing government activities. For instance, while at Ecological Project Office, he initiated the Pre-Project Sensitization Programme which brought together government officials, project benefiting communities, contractors and other stakeholders for effective collaboration aimed at ending conflicts between communities and contractors which hitherto, stalled execution of projects, resulting in the abandonment of projects and worsening of ecological sites at extra cost to government.
“At the Ministry of Agriculture, the outgoing director initiated the Annual Training Workshop for Agriculture Correspondents aimed at deepening their understanding of the Ministry’s activities with Directors and other Experts taking turns to brief the Participants.”
In his valedictory speech on Monday, July 28, 2025, Dr Oruche expressed his profound gratitude to all journalists who worked with him during his tour of duty in different Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) especially Agriculture Correspondents for their commitment and support.
He urged them to continue to support the department with the same level of commitment pledging to keep open his relationship with colleagues.
He revealed that the highlight of the Ceremony to mark his birthday and exit from Public Service will be presentation of his book titled: “Where No One Is Oppressed’ The Challenge Of Nation Building In Nigeria,” which is his humble contribution to nation building and national question slated for 31th July 2025 in Abuja.
The FMAFS statement added: “Dr Joel Okwuchukwu Oruche is an intellectual philosopher, Educationist, and Information Management Expert, a researcher, novelist, and prolific writer with 18 published books.
“His wealth of experience as a writer, teacher, and journalist will be missed by the department and, indeed, the Ministry.”
