New Head of Servic and Politics Of Civil Service Reform   Newsdiaryonline Fri Sep 23,2011

Prof Afolabi

The civil service reform of the present administration faces its most serious challenge as
 plans are on by some politicians rubbish its expected gains.Chuks Ehirim,  a respected journalist based in Abuja takes a look at the intrigues going on  aimed at circumventing the rule

 In 2004, the Federal Government, under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, initiated a process aimed at not only sanitizing but repositioning the federal civil service for the greater task ahead. It was known as the Civil Service Reform and celebrated by many as a step in the right direction.
The reform, according to sources, was targeted  at streamlining [right sizing the service],posting
 civil service personnel to places where their competence  could be maximized for better efficiency but most importantly, restoring the lost glory of the Nigerian  Civil Service by bringing it back to those good old days  when it was rated among the very best in the World, which essentially was the objective of the then Professor Dotun Philips Civil Service Reform, which again,  was instituted by the same man, Obasanjo, when he was  Nigerian military leader[1976-79].
 To further drive this process, President Goodluck Jonathan, who is a well known political ally of Obasanjo, inaugurated, on Match 30,2011, another Presidential Committee on the Review of the Reform process in  the Nigerian Public Service.
The sixteen member committee which is headed by Mallam Adamu Fika, a top career civil servant himself in his active days, submitted an interim report to  the President, in July. All these efforts, we gathered, are aimed at making  sure that professionalism is fully restored in civil service. In keeping with this spirit, the Adamu Fika Committee, in its interim report to the President, showed the direction that should be followed in this process.
The committee had warned that the appointment of whoever would head the Federal Civil Service, should be done on ‘’MERIT,PROVEN COMPETENCE AND A CAREER OFFICER WHO ROSE FROM THE RANKS AND APPOINTED BY  THE FCSC FROM DAY ONE AND SHOULD NOT BE ZONED TO ANY
GEO-POLITICAL AREA BECAUSE IT IS NOT A POLITICAL POST’’.
We gathered from reliable sources within the service,  that the committee, in making this appeal, was guided by  the need to  avoid a situation like what happened last year when the current Head of Service of  the Federation, Professor Oladipo Afolabi, was appointed, in disregard to the recommendations of the Federal Civil  Service Commission[FCSC],headed by Ambassador Ahmed Al-Gazali. The committee, sources revealed, had advised  President Jonathan to follow strictly laid down civil service  rules in getting a replacement for Mr Steve Oronsaye, who retired as HOS in November, 2010. The President was said to have  been advised to choose Oronsoye’s successor, from among  ‘’seasoned career civil servants who rose to the position of Permanent Secretary, from not less than GLO8-10, in the Federal Civil Service’s Admin cadre’’

The Committee went further to suggest three Perm Secs,  from who the President ought to have made his choice. They included,Dr B. D. IBE, from Imo State, Mr J.P.Major, from Anambra State, and Mr A.S. Olayisade, from Ekiti State. But Jonathan ignored that piece of advice and settled for
Afolabi. His decision in this regard is said to have  been influenced by intense pressure from the same former President Obasanjo who wanted Afolabi as HOS at all cost.

Close to a year after, the same mistake is about to  be made, as Afolabi retires on the 29th of this month. High wire politics is playing out. A group of persons said  to be bent on installing their crony as Afolabi’s  successor,  have been pulling the strings again. Their game plan  this  time around, is said to be to introduce politics into the  civil service.To this effect, stories have been appearing in the  media, suggesting that the position the post should be zoned  to particular part of the country. There are other Nigerians  who are diametrically opposed to this view.  Some of them are members of a civil society organization, LAWYERS OF CONCIENCE, who have equally advised President  Jonathan to look properly before he leaps this time  around.
 In a press release protesting the planned politicization of the civil service, the group said
that the  plot to politicize the civil service will certainly deal   ‘’a final death blow on the Federal Civil Service  in  Nigeria’’.
  According to the group, ’’this move  is coming by way of the ongoing manipulations to politicize the
appointment of the person who will take over from  the current Head of  Service of the Federation, Professor Oladapo Afolabi, who is due to retire from service on 29 September, 2011’’.

 It added that ‘’Our research shows that in the last two  weeks, stories have been planted in the media by agents of these  highly placed Nigerians, to the effect that the  position of  Head Of Service of  the federation[HOSF]will be  zoned  to a particular section of the country.
 In one of these newspaper publications which  appeared in the Monday, September 12,2011  edition of  the  Daily Trust [page 6],names of five persons from whom  the   possible replacement for Professor Afolabi,  will emerge, were made public.
 ‘’In some order publications, the promoters of this hidden agenda, insisted on a specific  geo political zone that must produce the  HOSF.

 ‘’As responsible Nigerians who are bent on  seeing  that the proper things must be done at all  times, we feel very sad over these moves being made by a handful of  Nigerians, to bend the rule in order to satisfy their selfish interests.
 ‘’To start with, we do know that there is a rule governing the appointment of the HOSF, by the
 President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This rule has also made it clear that that office can not be politicized.This rule has also made it mandatory that in making the appointment, the President must be guided by the recommendation of the Federal Civil Service Commission[FCSC].

 ‘’We recall that in its Interim Report submitted to Mr President in July 2011,the Presidential Committee on the Review of the Reform Process in the  Nigeria  Public Service, stated unequivocally, that the post of Head Of Service of the Federation, should be strictly on MERIT , PROVEN COMPETENCE  AND A CAREEROFFICER WHO ROSE FROM THE RANKS AND APPOINTED
BY THE FCSC FROM DAY ONE AND SHOULD NOT BE ZONED TO ANY GEO-POLITICAL  AREA BECAUSE IT IS NOT A POLITICAL POST’’.

 The lawyers pointed out further, that, ’’We also wish to point out that in a letter  to President Goodluck Jonathan, dated  November 3, 2010,and signed by former Chairman of  the
 FCSC,Ambassador Ahmed Al-Gazali, the commission  then, advised the President to appoint a seasoned career civil servant as HOSF. ‘’The present attempt being made to introduce
 dangerous politics of zoning into the civil  service appears to be  an ill wind that will do country  no
 good. We  therefore appeal to President Goodluck  Jonathan to ignore  all those who are trying to hoodwink him now by suggesting that he appoints the next HOSF, based on zoning.   The President should stick to the recommendations  and advice of the Federal Civil Service Commission and ensure that only the man or woman who merits occupying that position ,gets it.
 They called on the President ‘’bear in  mind also ,that what he needs to make a huge success of  his Transformation Agenda is a highly professionalized civil service headed by a well qualified, educated and committed core  career civil servant, not the one whose appointment is tinted with political coloration.

‘’The Federal Civil Service is yet to recover fully from the meddlesomeness of the politicians in
 recent years. To continue in that tradition will tantamount to total destruction of the civil  service.

Speaking on the need to carryout thorough reform of the civil service, a retired Navy officer, Navy Captain Jerry Ogbonna,said in a  published interview, that President Jonathan’s  Transformation Agenda will be meaningless if the civil  service is not properly reformed now.
‘’They should please, if it means to have file  audit to make sure that the files as they come are
 being attended to. I have worked with government I know that when you finish a procurement process, one year after the project doesn’t get to start, Why should it take that long? Are we saying that if we are working for ourselves and we have a project to do that it will take us one year to implement?’’ He added that ‘’the ministers who are coming in should bring some innovations to ensure that policies of government are implemented, that files, directors who delay to
attend to files should attend to the files because there are  so many intrigues that go on that prevent these things from moving. If they just sit down there they don’t take care of the civil service and the way they work, we won’t get anywhere with this our transformation. That is   my view.That is the view of other Nigerians.’’
 

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