Panic and fears have gripped directors in
the federal civil service following the
retirements of 17 permanent sectaries on
Monday, November 9.
The premises of the federal civil service
commission in Abuja
The directors are afraid that the
reorganisation of departments and
directorates might lead to their ouster from
the civil service.
The Punch reports that the ongoing
restructuring of departments was in line
with President Muhammadu Buhari’s
decision to reduce the number of federal
ministries from 29 to 25.
While the ministries of aviation, police and
special duties were scrapped, the ministries
of lands, housing, urban development and
works were merged to become the Ministry
of Works and Housing. The ministries of
information, culture, national orientation
and tourism were merged to become the
Ministry of Information and Culture.
The reorganisation will reportedly affect
Grade Levels 15 to 17 officers, who are
mostly assistant directors, deputy directors
and directors.
A director, who was handling the
reorganisation of the departments and
directorates, revealed that in those
ministries that were merged some directors
might be retired. However, he noted that
such compulsory retirement would affect
those who have few years to spend in the
civil service or had cases of graft.
A senior officer in the office of the Head of
Service, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, explained the reasons for the
restructuring.
“What I can tell you for sure is that this is a
restructuring exercise by the present
administration aimed at revitalising and re-
engineering the civil service for effective
service delivery. So, if the federal
government feels that merging of a
particular ministry with another is going to
bring smooth governance, so be it. You
cannot challenge the government for a
particular action that is going to bring
service delivery for Nigeria. So, the merger
certainly is going to bring service delivery
better for the development of the nation
Meanwhile, Alade Lawal, the secretary-
general of the Association of Senior Civil
Servants of Nigeria, stressed that the union
would resist the compulsory retirement of
directors.
“The other area where we want to advise
the government to thread with caution is
the rumour making the rounds that some
directors will be removed from service. On
this one, we will resist the move and also
challenge it with all trade union actions at
our disposal. The post of a director is a
career position and not political.
“The retirement position is governed by the
Public Service Rules which stipulates 60
years of age or 35 years of service,
whichever comes first. Any attempt to
remove them prematurely before the
terminal end of their career is unlawful and
we will not accept it. This is not saying that
anyone that is found wanting cannot be
disciplined. In doing that, however, due
process must be followed,” he said.
Following the sack of 17 permanent
secretaries, President Buhari has recently
announced the names of the new
replacements for the federal government.
The total number of new appointees is 54,
which includes 18 in the Federal Civil
Service.
https://www.naij.com/635136-panic-fear-grip-directors-sacking-permanent-secretaries.html

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