The move to introduce a tenure system for officers in the directorate level of the Federal Civil Service is being resisted
By Oluokun Ayorinde/Abuja
At his maiden meeting with officers in the directorate level of the civil service in Abuja, on Tuesday 14 July 2009, Steve Oronsaye, then just some days in office as the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, won applause when he stated his determination to bring about improvements required of a 21st Century civil service. With the applause, the new HOS may have thought that any move designed to achieve this aim would receive unqualified support from the officers. But going by reactions that have greeted what can be be tagged Oronsaye’s first major reform initiative in the civil service, nothing can be farther from the truth.
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| •Stephen Orosanye |
The Head of Service and Ahmed Al-Ghazali, the Chairman of Federal Civil Service Commission, FCSC, had in a joint memorandum to President Umaru Yar’Adua titled Succession Crisis in the Federal Civil Service: Introduction of Tenure For Directors and Permanent Secretaries, on 12 August, sought the permission of the President to make holding of the posts of permanent secretary and directors in the civil service to be on tenure basis. As stated in the circular, the move was intended to address the problem of chronic lack of vacancy at the permanent secretary and director levels. This, they stated, has led to low morale and stagnation as officers from lower levels cannot be promoted because some of the present occupants of these positions have been in office for very long.
This magazine gathered that the proposals in the circular were promptly approved by President Yar’Adua. Consequently, a circular titled “Tenure of Office for Permanent secretaries and Directors,” signed by the HOS, was issued on 26 August. The circular reads: “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.
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