By Amina Aminu
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF), Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, has called on the management of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) to have a rethink on the entry position, as well as allocated slots for Federal Civil Servants into the Senior Executive Course (SEC).
She lamented that only substantive Directors are considered eligible for admission, while the bar is being lowered for public servants, especially the military and para-military.
Dr. Yemi-Esan, bemoaned the abysmal seven (7) slots being currently offered the service, annually.
The HoS, made the call when the Director General of NIPSS, Prof. Ayo Omotayo, together with the institute’s management staff paid her a courtesy visit, in Abuja.
She urged them to do a comparative analysis of posts in the Federal Civil Service vis-a-vis those of the public service with a view to correcting the anomaly, adding that the data is readily accessible.
The HoCSF, however, commended NIPSS for re-tooling the personnel in government through the conduct of courses for middle and top level Officers with the understanding and application of modern policy formulation and strategic management skills to problem solving in the pursuit of national developmental goals.
While responding to the concerns and issues raised by the Director General, Dr. Yemi-Esan, concurred that a collaboration between the National Institute and the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) would make for a better understanding of government policies and their effectiveness in moving the country forward.
She acknowledged the quality of work put in by the Institute, buttressing it with the fact that in the last three years, a substantial number of the present crop of transformative federal permanent secretaries were products of NIPSS.
Responding to Omotayo, on the proposed certification of Directors undergoing SEC as policy analysts, the HoCSF disclosed that it will be economically unwise to spend funds training Officers, who have less than three or four years to exit the service, given that the certificates were for proficiency and not career progression, which negates the primary purpose of value addition.
Regarding the replacement of staff that had left the service of the institute, Yemi-Esan, asked them to apply for a waiver, since there is embargo on employment, while highlighting that the process of authorised establishments starts towards the ending of each year.
She further directed the institute to make a presentation to the Salaries, Income and Wages Commission concerning the peasant emolument of its staff as raised by the Director General, stressing that the OHCSF only has responsibility for establishment matters.
Earlier on, while soliciting for more effective collaboration, Omotayo, stated that the OHCSF, being the think-tank of the government, should ensure that policies are well articulated, as well as executed to the latter.
He also guaranteed that NIPSS will continue to develop mechanisms toward ensuring that government policies are properly executed.