Akor Sylvester
3 December 2007
Abuja — A RECENT reconstitution and redeployment of Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Civil Service is now generating disquiet, as some top civil servants and political leaders have petitioned President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua over perceived lopsidedness in the arrangement.
The Office of the Head of Service, Ebele Okeke had last Thursday, released the new redeployment of the permanent secretaries as approved by President Yar'Adua, but the protesting public sector workers faulted the composition and redeployment, saying some sections of the country were marginalized.
In line with this, the presidency has been inundated with petitions over alleged skewed composition and redeployments that did not reflect federal character.
One of the petitions dated November 26 and signed by Macaulay Ingusa and Jimoh Olaniyi, which was made available to Daily Champion in Abuja, the aggrieved civil servants listed ministries considered key and strategic but which were given to Permanent Secretaries of Northern extraction to include Foreign Affairs, Transportation, Defence, Petroleum, Energy, Education, Mines and Steel Development and special Duties.
They expressed worries that all the key ministries that will handle matters relating to the Niger Delta have Permanent Secretaries from the North. "Since these are key officials who advise on policies and are engine room of implementation, any wrong or mischievous advice will only result in further restiveness in the volatile area."
The Federal civil servants also picked holes in appointment of two permanent secretaries from some states in the North like Borno, home state of the Secretary to Government (SGF), Kaduna and Bauchi when some others don't even have any.
While calling on the National Assembly to look into the anomaly to douse the restiveness in the Federal civil service, the petitioners asked the lawmakers to revisit the choice of chairmen for the offices of the Federal Civil Service Commission and the Federal Character Commission, saying "Rule of law can't operate outside rule of fairness."
In another petition written by employees who identified themselves as Concerned Civil Servants of Nigeria, the redeployment of career diplomats to ministries other than the Foreign affairs, were also faulted.
The group specifically accused the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF), Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe of being the brain behind the lopsidedness, maintaining that their investigations have shown that what the Head of Service recommended was not what the SGF proposed to the president.
"We are concerned about the hypocrisy and politics of marginalization in the federal civil service, a situation where a career diplomat instead of remaining in the Foreign Affairs Ministry was redeployed to OSGF (Cabinet Office). This is unacceptable. It is right to put the round peg in a round hole to make a balance.
"Some states from the geo-political zones in the North were given juicy permanent secretary positions, when some other states in the South just got positions to fill in the gap or just to fulfill all righteousness."
They equally pointed out that permanent secretaries posted to petroleum, energy, education health, transportation, oil and gas are all from the same zone, thereby not portraying fairness and equity.
The Concerned Civil Servants therefore called on President Yar'Adua to look into the matter and redress the marginalization by revisiting the posting, as the development is unhealthy for the civil service.
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