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Tag: perm secs

  • Lagos gets five Perm Secs

    Lagos gets five Perm Secs

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has approved the appointment of five new permanent secretaries and Tutor General in furtherance of his administration’s commitment towards strengthening and improving the public service.

    A statement issued yesterday from the Office of the State Head of Service quoted the Head of Service, Mrs. Olabowale Ademola, as listing the new permanent secretaries as Mrs. Florence Ebunoluwa Oluwasuji, who is now the Permanent Secretary/Tutor General, Education District V; Dr. Shamsideen Olalekan Allison, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Primary Health Care Board (PHCB); Saliu Abidemi Adeyemi, an engineer, who takes over as the Permanent Secretary , Ministry of the Environment; Mr. Senayon Adeola Hundeyin, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Mrs. Yetunde Adefolahan Odejayi, Permanent Secretary, Deputy Governor’s Office.

    Ademola wished the new permanent secretaries a most rewarding and impactful tenure and also enjoined public servants to accord them the deserved recognition and support required in their new responsibilities.

    “While wishing the new permanent secretaries a most rewarding and impactful tenure, all public servants are enjoined to accord them the deserved recognition and support required in their newly assigned responsibilities,” the Head of Service averred.

     

  • Labour flays tenure abolition for Perm Secs, Directors

    Labour flays tenure abolition for Perm Secs, Directors

    The Federal Government’s sudden decision to abolish the tenure policy for Permanent Secretaries and Directors in the Public Service has not gone down well with  the orgAnised labour

    The organised labour, under the aegis of Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), has, therefore, urged the Federal Government to halt the plan and summon a stakeholders’ meeting to discuss the issue.

    The tenure policy, which started in 2009, under the late President, UmaruYar’Adua, stipulated two terms of four years for Permanent Secretaries and a single tenure of eight years for Directors.

    In a statement issued in Lagos, during the week, ASCSN National President Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama and the Secretary-General, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, said incessant policy somersaults if not checked,  may destroy the cherished norms in the public service.

    The union noted that few months ago, the Federal Government recruited non-serving officers, some of whom were above 60 years, as Permanent Secretaries in violation of the Public Service Rules (PSR).

    “This is in a situation where there are highly skilled, educated, and knowledgeable civil servants who should have been elevated to these exalted positions.

    “All appeals by this union to the government to reverse the appointments and promote senior civil servants who have served the nation meritoriously for decades to the posts of Permanent Secretaries were treated with contempt,” Kaigama said.

    He noted that in February, a Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resource, who was to retire on February 17, 2016 had her service extended to February 2017, while other Permanent Secretaries exited.

  • Buhari ends eight-year tenure for perm secs, directors

    Buhari ends eight-year tenure for perm secs, directors

    As part of steps to ensure stability in the nation’s civil service, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday suspended the eight year tenure policy for Permanent Secretaries and directors in the Federal Civil Service with immediate effect.

    The directive was contained in a circular to all Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita.

    A statement by the Director Communication, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Haruna R. Imrana, said all MDAs should give effect to the new directive.

    The statement said: “The Circular which conveyed the President’s directive on the suspension said the suspension is with immediate effect and all concerned are to comply accordingly.”

    A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “This is a landmark civil service reform by President Muhammadu Buhari because it will stabilize the system. The previous policy had led to the loss of good and resourceful hands in the civil service.

    “Also, by implications, civil servants will now feel free to retire mandatorily at either 60 years of age or 35 years in service.

    “The craze for corruption in the civil service by tenured public officers will reduce. There will be a sense of security for civil servants with the suspension of the eight-year policy.”

    The Federal Government had on August 26, 2009 through circular HCSF/O61/S.1/III/68 introduced the tenure policy for directors and Permanent Secretaries.

    The circular was signed by a former Head of the Civil service of the Federation, Mr. Steve Oronsaye.

    Titled “Tenure of Office for Permanent Secretaries and Directors,” said the eight-year tenure for Permanent Secretaries and directors was  without prejudice to the mandatory 60 years of age or 35 years in service for retirement.

    The circular had read: “As part of the continuing reforms in the Federal Civil Service, Government has found it necessary to develop a policy that will renew and reinvigorate the service, restore morale of officers and unlock the creative potentials of hard-working officers.

    “Accordingly, Government has approved that permanent secretaries shall hold office for a term of four years, renewable for a further term of four years, subject to satisfactory performance, and no more.

    “In the case of directors, they shall compulsorily retire upon serving eight years on the post. This approval is without prejudice to the relevant provisions of the public service rules which prescribe 60 years of age and/or 35 years of service for mandatory retirement.

    “Consequently, all serving permanent secretaries and directors who would have spent eight years on post by 1st January 2010, the effective date of this provision, are hereby notified for the purpose of commencing their pre-retirement activities, when due.”

  • Ortom sacks 11 perm secs

    Ortom sacks 11 perm secs

    Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has ordered the retirement of 11 permanent secretaries.

    The state’s emergency Executive Council (Exco) meeting ratified the retirement.

    Those affected are: Stev Ato, Terna Iorkyaan, Joseph Okoh, Akperan Anunne and Eugene Ivase.

    Others are: Godwin Ejembi, Shabu Ade John, Asen Sambe, Tor Jun and Terlumun Tsegba.

    Addressing reporters after the meeting, Information and Orientation Commissioner Ode Ageh said the retirement was with immediate effect.

    The commissioner said the government’s action followed the health conditions, age and performances of the affected permanent secretaries.

    He also said seven vehicles were recovered from officials of the Gabriel Suswam administration.

    Ageh warned those still keeping government’s property to return them to avoid embarrassment.

  • Ahmed swears in 14 Perm Secs

    Ahmed swears in 14 Perm Secs

    Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed yesterday swore in 14 Permanent Secretaries.

    The governor urged them, as chief accounting officers of their ministries, to drive with vigour his administration’s prudent and judicious use of public resources and enhanced internally generated revenue (IGR).

    He noted that such prudence had become expedient because of dwindling revenue to the state from the Federation Account.

    Ahmed said: “Today, the realities of the economic challenges are upon us. In the last 18 months, the Federal allocation to the state had dwindled consistently.

    “Specifically, our monthly allocation has dropped by about 45 per cent and is currently incapable of meeting our recurrent expenditure, including the payment of salaries.

    “There is no indication that the situation will improve any time soon. Therefore, this is the time for the government to implement belt-tightening measures.”

  • More perm secs for Lagos

    More perm secs for Lagos

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday appointed Taofik Adeyemi Fashola, Tunde Tairu Ogunleye and Fola Padonu as permanent secretaries.

    A statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Tunji Bello, said the appointment was in line with the restructuring of the civil service for optimal, effective and efficient service delivery.

    Fashola was director, Admin and Human Resources, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. He is now permanent secretary, Audit Service Commission.

    Ogunleye, a director of Accounts in the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, moves to the the Ministry of Finance as permanent secretary.

    Padonu was a director, Planning in the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment and is now the permanent secretary.

    Ambode also approved the redeployment of seven other permanent secretaries.

     

  • Tambuwal appoints accountant-general, perm secs

    Tambuwal appoints accountant-general, perm secs

    Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has approved the appointment of Umaru Ahmad Tambuwal as the accountant-general.

    Other appointments approved by the governor, as contained in a statement yesterday by his spokesman, Imam Imam, included eight permanent secretaries, among who were Aminu Abdullahi, Mustapha Abdulkadir, Haruna Maishanu, Yahaya M. Gobir, Bello Idris and Sani Umar.

    Also appointed were eight directors-general, namely  Shehu Ladan, Sani Daudu Yabo, Bello Bawa, Ibrahim Umar, Aishatu Hassan, Ibrahim Halliru Dingyadi, Bello Umar Alkali and Maikudi Danda Dogon Daji (acting DG, State Protocol Affairs).

    The statement confirmed the appointments of Abubakar Shekara as the managing director, state Media Corporation and Labaran Lumu Dundaye, general manager, Rima Television (RTV).

  • Ayade sanctions absentee Perm Secs, directors

    Ayade sanctions absentee Perm Secs, directors

    Cross River State governor Ben Ayade yesterday ordered disciplinary action against permanent secretaries and directors who were absent at their desks when he undertook unscheduled visits to some ministries.

    The governor, who was accompanied by his deputy, Prof Ivara  Esu, Secretary to the State Government , Mrs. Tina Agbor, and Acting Head of Service, Mr. Ekpenyong  Henshaw, arrived the Ministry of Agriculture headquarters at 12.40pm.

    He was shocked to discover that most senior officers were not in their offices.

    Upset at the development,  he directed that disciplinary actions be taken against the erring staff.

    Expressing disappointment with what he described as an intolerable behavior of the senior civil servants, Governor Ayade said the state was at a critical stage where all hands were needed to be on deck to actualize the economic agenda of his administration.

    He said if government could honour its obligation to pay civil servants salaries as and when due, they were duty bound to reciprocate its gesture by coming to work early, reminding that they  were always the first to cry foul when their salaries were not paid on time.

    “I am not happy with what I am seeing because it is against civil service orientation and I will not accept it because they are expected to be in office between 8am and 4pm,” he stated.

    Ayade noted that as directors, they were expected to be exemplary as they were those to take over from Permanent Secretaries that were retired recently, adding that from what he saw, it seemed they were not prepared for the task ahead.

    At the Ministry of Health, the governor berated the Director of Administration following his discovery that there was no documentation of movement of staff as indicated in the time book and movement register. He directed the Director of Administration to ensure that the proper things were done.

    The governor who was angry with what he saw at the Civil Service Commission, said: “This place is worse than others and they should be taught a lesson and the Permanent Secretary replaced for failure to show good leadership.”

     

  • Sack fever grips perm secs

    Sack fever grips perm secs

    …as Buhari halts test for new ones

    Sack panic has gripped permanent secretaries following plans by President Muhammadu Buhari to trim ministries, departments and agencies(MDAs) to manageable size.

    There were indications that some permanent secretaries, especially weak and corrupt ones,  might be retired.

    Based on the pending change, the presidency yesterday halted plans to conduct a test for about 20 directors seeking to fill vacancies for the Director-General of the Budget Office and permanent secretary slots for Abia, Borno, Jigawa and Kwara states.

    It was also gathered that the alleged abuse of the selection process also accounted for the postponement of the test.

    A highly-placed source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The fear of a likely reduction of permanent secretaries by 50 per cent has gripped the civil service. Already, we have 42 permanent secretaries and if the MDAs are merged, some permanent secretaries may have to proceed on retirement.

    “The government may be forced to look at the records of the permanent secretaries. The weak and corrupt ones who fiddled with SURE-P funds, mismanaged resources and presided over phony contracts might be dropped.

    “Although the permanent secretaries are managing the government machinery with President Buhari, it will soon be their turn to be sacked or retired.”

    It was gathered that the pending change accounted for the abrupt stoppage of the examination for about 30 directors seeking to fill vacancies for the Director-General of the Budget Office and permanent secretary slots for Abia, Borno, Jigawa and Kwara states.

    A top source in the civil service said: “All the short-listed directors were yesterday abruptly told that the examination has been postponed indefinitely based on the directive of the presidency.

    “They said the shift was as a result of plans by the presidency to review the size of the permanent secretary cadre in the Federal Civil Service.

    “The presidency felt there might be no need yet to appoint new permanent secretaries when it has not decided the fate of those in charge now.”

    A circular by the Permanent Secretary (CMO), Amb. Danjuma N. Sheni, which was exclusively obtained by our correspondent, had invited the directors for the examination.

    The circular said: “I write to inform you that the timetable for the selection of candidates to fill vacancies for the appointment of Permanent Secretaries for Abia, Borno, Jigawa, and Kwara as well as the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation has been scheduled to hold from Monday, August 17 to Saturday 22, 2015 as indicated below:

    “ICT Refresher Course Self-Assessment Questionnaire Administration (August 17, 2015; Written Examination for selection of Permanent Secretaries(August 18, 2015); and Written Examination for selection of Director-General Budget Office of the Federation (August 19, 2015).

    “Permanent Secretaries are hereby requested to ensure that all candidates attend the activities as scheduled, please.”

    The Ahmed Joda Transition Committee had recommended drastic reforms in the civil service.

    The panel said: “There is no direct relationship between the number of ministries and efficacy of service delivery. The US with a population of 316million and with GDP of $17, 328 trillion (30 times Nigeria’s GDP) has 15 ministries. India has 24 ministries, while the UK has 17.

    “The current structure of the Federal Government of Nigeria with 28 ministries and 542 agencies (50 of which have no enabling laws) results in very high cost of governance. The portfolios of ministries are not responsive to all the major critical national challenges such as family and child affairs; religious affairs; vulnerable and elderly group affairs as well as the North-Eastern crisis.

    “There is an apparent conflict between the desire of reducing the cost of governance through cabinet downsize and the constitutional requirement of a cabinet-level ministerial appointment from each of the 36 states of the federation.”

  • El-Rufai sacks more perm secs

    •Appoints accountant-general

    Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai yesterday announced the appointment of an Accountant-General, Umar Hassan Waziri.

    The governor retired more permanent secretaries, one of who is a son of the first Executive Governor of the old Kaduna State, Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa.

    These were contained in a statement made available to reporters in Kaduna by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Samuel Aruwan.

    The statement said: “The new accountant-general is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). He studied Accounting at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and graduated in 1995.”

    Born in Zaria in 1971, Waziri worked with the Shell Petroleum Development Company as an internal auditor. Before his appointment, he ran an accounting firm.

    The statement also announced the retirement of Adamu Makadi, (permanent secretary, Local Government); Ibrahim Balarabe Musa, (permanent secretary, Youth, Sports and Culture) and Ishaku K. Shekari, (accountant-general).

    It said the retired permanent secretaries were directed to hand over to the most senior director in their ministries.

    The statement added that the governor thanked the retired officials for the services they rendered.