By Victoria Onyisi
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), has berated the call by a faceless group for the cancellation of the recently concluded selection process for the appointment of Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Civil Service.
The National President of ASCSN, Comrade Tommy Okon, who addressed newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja, said the proponents do not mean well for the Service, adding that it was disturbing, that the group sought to circumvent meritocracy in the civil service with regards to the very critical task of selecting eligible Directors for appointment to the post of Permanent Secretary.
Okon, asked: “The question is: who, in a sane and contemporary clime does that?”
He expressed disappointment that a ‘faceless group’ parading itself as a group of senior civil servants, was calling for cancellation of the promotion exams for Directors aspiring for the position of Permanent Secretary in the Federal Civil Service.
“The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria is a registered and recognized trade union listed in the Third Schedule of the Trade Unions Act as well as by the Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette.
“Therefore, it is absolutely unacceptable and questionable for the purported group to propagate the alleged comments of faceless individuals who claim to be civil servants as though their opinions are those of the entirety of the service.
“It will be recalled that Chapter 2, Sections 020811-020813 on promotion in the Revised Public Service Rules prescribes the eligibility criteria and selection process for the post of Permanent Secretary as follows:
“The candidate must: be a Director on Grade Level (GL) 17 and in the mainstream of the Federal Civil Service; have been verified on the IPPIS portal/ platform as having been confirmed as a staff of the Federal Government of Nigeria; be at least two (2) years on the post of Director.
“Not be retiring on or before the 31st of December of the following year; provide proof of indigeneship of the State where the vacancy exists; indigeneship of a State must not be by marriage in case of a female Civil Servant; and not have a pending disciplinary action against him”, the National President of ASCSN stressed.
Okon further wondered how the group “which claims to be abreast of issues in the civil service, displays an unpardonable level of ignorance about the procedures for appointment of Permanent Secretaries as provided in the revised PSR.”
It would be recalled that a group by the name, Centre for Public Accountability had claimed that senior civil servants had called for the cancellation of the examination for the selection of eligible successful directors for appointment as Permanent Secretaries.
He therefore advised that “If the service will not be paying lip service in entrenching meritocracy in the system, priority should be accorded to the quality of the candidates and not their quantity.”
The service, he said must take deliberate steps to depart from the culture of merely filling vacancies to putting round pegs in round holes forthwith, adding: “We, are aware that the Office of the Civil Service of the Federation under its current leadership, is driving a number of laudable reforms in a conscious attempt to salvage the poor image of the service as an inefficient institution of government.”
Okon commended President Bola Tinubu for his support to public sector reforms. “Therefore, we refuse and will resist in its entirety, any calculated act to encourage mediocrity, disregard for extant rules and unprofessionalism in the service.” He said.