THE recently approved public/civil service reforms for top echelons that is, Permanent Secretaries and Directors in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) by the Federal Government (FG) in the federal public service is a welcome development and needs to be efficiently, effectively and religiously implemented.
There is need also for the states in the federation to implement the new reforms.
It is on record that since 1970, we have had several reforms and three different commissions. First is the Adebo Commission of 1970 and the Udoji Commission of 1972. These commissions reviewed the structure and orientation of the civil (public) service to make it efficient, effective and reliable. Again, in 1985, a study group under the chairmanship of Professor Dotun Phillips looked into the inefficiency and ineffectiveness as well as red tape and bureaucracy in the public service. Despite all these commissions, the public service in Nigeria failed to deliver appropriately. There are cases of injustice and victimisation in the service based on tribalism, nepotism, favouritism as well as godfatherism and godmotherism. With all these in place, how can the public service make meaningful contributions to the development of our nation especially to the current nascent democratic structure? For us to make progress the recent reform needs to be implemented effectively.
To me, the current reform looks like that of the Civil Service (Re-organisation) decree No. 43 of 1988 during the junta of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babaginda popularly referred to as “lBB” and the first and only military president Nigeria has ever had. This reform was specially for the attainment of government objectives, aims and policies; the promotion of a better execution of the laws and programme of the government; an efficient and expeditious administration of government business, the reduction of expenditure and improvement of economy to the fullest extent consistent with efficiency in the operation of government; and increased efficiency in the implementation of government policies and programmes to the fullest extent practicable through the encouragement of specialisation of personnel and through other measures.
However, it is crystal clear that this reform would have enhanced the public service but was not fully implemented before it was abandoned. The issue of professionalism among staffers was neglected and this has never made public service to move forward in the right direction. For example, how do you expect a veterinary doctor appointed to man a brewery to understand the gobbledygook that is professional jargon in the brewery industry?
The tenure system as introduced by the federal government is a right step in the right direction. I think and believe that it has broken the jinx that had bedeviled the succession balance of the federal bureaucracy where only two permanent secretaries retired recently after fifteen (15) years as permanent secretaries.
Some states in the federation do rush their administrative staffers through undeserved promotions, and when a vacancy is declared at the top echelon to fill their quota, such officers transfer to the federal leve’ at the top at a young age and continue to tour all ministries in the federation for several years like the footballer in the football field because he has not attained the mandatory retirement age of sixty (60) years or thirty five (35) years of service. In other words, the ministries become tourists’ centres for such top echelons.
In this connection, they become next to God if not ‘thin’ God and quickly help to bastardize the public service especially parastatals under their ministries which they always see as a dumping ground and where they can rip what they did not sow or entitled to. Some directors also remain for years in the departments and agencies that is parastatals and helped to massacre the entire structure, am aware that some parastatals failed woefully and later sold at peanut both at the state and federal Levels due to the inability of such directors who have over stayed to manage properly. For the new reforms to be effective, the list of such officers who are for tenure system in the parastatals need to be looked into and be asked to retire on or before the January 1,2010 as stipulated in the reform. Departments and Agencies like hoarding information in connivance with some officials of the supervising ministries.
The recently introduced reforms in the federal civil (public) service’ according to the gazette titled Compulsory Retirement coded 020810 states the new development thus: the compulsory retirement age for all grades in the service shall be 60 years or 35 years of pensionable service whichever is earlier, No officer shall be allowed to remain in service after attaining the retirement age of 60 or 35 years of pensionable service whichever is earlier. The provision of (i) of this rule is without prejudice to the prevailing requirements for judicial officers and academic staff of university and other tertiary institutions who retire at 70 and 65 years respectively, provided the officers would not have attained the retirement age of 60 years or spent 35 years of pensionable service whichever is earlier.
A Director shall compulsorily retire upon serving, eight years on the post; and a permanent secretary shall hold office for a term of four years and renewable for a further term of four years, subject to satisfactory performance and no more.
This aspect was properly elucidated by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Elizabeth Emuren while addressing the press after a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja in which she described the tenure system of Permanent Secretaries, Directors as “a product of consensus”. Refer to Niger Delta Standard newspaper of September 4, 2009 P.18.
It is abundantly clear that various ploys have been used by different and strong powers to perpetrate illegalities within the civil (public) service including parastatals. There was no standard and accepted policy in the appointment to and tenure in office. It is becoming embarrassing as well as intimidating where a junior officer appointed in a state is being deployed into the Federal Civil Service only to be positioned on his senior colleagues just because he is from a particular zone of the federation. In other words, the officer would be imposed on his supervisors with rapid promotions and this will keep him/her as a lord over his senior colleagues for many years. This change has introduced and implemented by the current Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOS), Mr. Steve Oronsaye is a right step taken at the right time and in the right direction. He needs to be commended while the implementation should be properly executed not only in the ministries, but departments and agencies that is, parastatals with alacrity.
Finally, let us not be suspicious on the reforms or look at it from the ethnic or religious angles. Government appointments, especially at the top echelons should be based on hard work, dedication, qualification and excellence, while the public service should be seen as the engine room for the development and sustenance of any democratic structure. In this connection therefore, the public (civil) service in Nigeria need to operate towards this direction.
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