Wrong Persons Appointed Federal Secretaries, Says Retired Perm Sec

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

A retired Permanent Secretary, Ammuna Lawan-Ali, has said that the process of selecting federal permanent secretaries is fraught with anomalies.

Lawan-Ali made the outcry yesterday in Abuja at a press briefing by the Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries (CORFEPS) on the forthcoming CORFEPS Week slated for March 5 to 7.

She said the council had seen or even be inundated with anomalies where directors were subjected to rigorous written or oral interviews, only for the third or fourth rated candidates on the ranking order to be appointed as permanent secretaries.

“These are anomalous. They are not supposed to be. During the colloquium, we are going to be very open and tell only the truth,” Lawan-Ali said.

The retired permanent secretary also decried cases where some permanent secretaries go through the backdoor to seek extension of the tenure rule of only two terms of four years each, after which they were expected to exit the service.

She also noted that in their days, before anybody could be eligible for the permanent secretary examination, he/she must have headed a department or must have been a Director for no less than than three years.

“But we have found out that you can be a Director last month, head a department for only a month and still go ahead for permanent secretary examination. The whole essence of this colloquium is to find ways of improving governance.

“These are  the issues we will look at and proffer suggestions to the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and the Presidency so that the necessary corrections can be made based on our own experiences,” Lawan-Ali said.

Other members of CORFEPS, comprising top civil servants, who retired after attaining the grade of Permanent Secretary and higher, who addressed the media yesterday included the First Vice Chairman, Akin Arikawe; the National Publicity Secretary, Goke Adegoroye; the Acting Secretary, Ambassador Bulus Zom Lolo; and Dr Timiebi Koripamo-Agary.

In his speech, Adegoroye said that the opening day of the colloquium at the State House on March 5 is open to the public, by invitation, while the Annual General Meeting to that holds at Atiku Hall, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the following day is for members only.

He said President Bola Tinubu, who will be invested as the Grand Patron has been invited as Special Guest of Honour for the ceremony billed for March 7 and to be chaired by the  Olu of Ilu Abo and a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, HRH Olu Falae.

The theme of the colloquium is “Reflections on Nigeria’s Public Service: Way Forward for Good Governance.”