Kingsley Nwezeh
10 November 2009
Abuja — Federal Government yesterday read the riot act to the newly appointed permanent secretaries warning that their four-year tenure could be terminated within six months should they fall short of expectations.
Making government's position known at the end of a three-day induction course for the chief accounting officers of the federal ministries, Head of Service of the Federation, Steve Oronsaye, said the completion of the initial four-year tenure would be based on satisfactory performance.
He said there would be a continuous assessment of the permanent secretaries noting that the tenure of any of them could be terminated if the performance is found to be below expectation.
The HOS urged the officers to see their appointment as an opportunity to contribute immensely to the developmental process of the nation.
"The vigorous exercise that led to your being appointed has gone further to show that this position is not for all-comers but for those who are prepared to offer true service to the nation," he said.
Oronsaye, expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the new permanent secretaries during the induction programme which he said was an indication of the seriousness they intend to bring to their work.
The induction programme, he said, was arranged to give them an insight into the expectations of the office and equip them to tackle the challenges ahead.
The programme, according to a statement from the office of the HOS, was also attended by serving permanent secretaries and had as resource persons, Dr. Christopher Kolade; Director-General, Budget Office, Bright Okogu; Managing Director, Galaxy Backbone, Gerald Ilukwe; former Permanent Secretary, Dr. B.K. Kaigama; and Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission, Ambassador Ahmed Al-Ghazali.
In the course of the programme, some serving permanent secretaries who participated in the sessions shared their experiences with the new ones. These include S.D. Kassim (Mines and Steel Development); Ambassador Joe Keshi (Foreign Affairs); Dr.Yahaya Abdullahi ( Niger Delta); Prof. O.A. Afolabi (Education); and Dr. Goke Adegoroye (Interior).
After a review of the lessons learnt during the induction programme the newly appointed permanent secretaries made some recommendations on the conduct of work in the civil service.
These include the need to have ethical and integrity training for civil servants in conjunction with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC); the need for a retreat that would involve ministers, permanent secretaries, the Accountant-General and Auditor-General's Office; and the need to streamline the roles and responsibilities of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Civil Service Commission.
Other recommendations include the need to create a corps of ICT personnel at the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the
Federation and deployed to all MDAs.
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