By Isah Hussein.
A Civil Society Organization, Civil Society Groups for Good Governance (CSGGG) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. Folashade Mejabi Yemi-Esan, to adhere strictly to public service rule and announce replacement for the sacked former Accountant General of the Federation(AGF).
The call was made at a world press conference held on Wednesday, at the NUJ Secretariat, Abuja.
The group also expressed dissatisfaction about the opaque manner in which the current recruitment process for a substantive Accountant-General of the federation is being carried out.
Comrade Ogakwu Dominic Ogakwu – President, Civil Society Groups for Good Governance (CSGGG) in the statement said that the conference became imperative in the face of the divergent opinions and conflicting conspiracy theories, shrouding the delay in the appointment of a new substantive Accountant-General of the Federation – particularly because of the critical role of the Accountant-General in a nation at a crossroads like ours, with myriads of crippling challenges, paramount among them being the depleting and almost empty national treasury.
Comrade Ogakwe particularly called on the Head of Service of the Federation, to stand up in defense of her oath of office and ensure that our public service rule is strictly observed to the letter.
He said; “after the unholy exit of the former AGF who is standing trial for financial misappropriation, necessity is laid on the Head of Service of the Federation to invoke the powers of paragraph two (2) of the Federal Establishment Circulars – Ref. No. SGF.50/s.II/C.2/268, which reads; “Furthermore, pending the appointment of a substantive Head of Extra-Ministerial Department/Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of Parastatals, Agency, Commission and Government-owned company, the outgoing Chief Executive Officer must handover to the next most senior Officer of the establishment, as long as the officer does not have any pending disciplinary matter.
He added that outgoing Heads of Extra-Ministerial Department, Parastatals, Agencies, Commissions and Government-owned Companies, are not allowed the discretion of choosing the officer to whom they would handover
“Therefore, should the reluctance of the Head of Service to interpret this paragraph within context, be construed as a deliberate violation of extant regulations of the federal republic of Nigeria?
“This inaction – be it by commission or omission – has stirred the hornets’ nest, with attendant infighting and rift tearing treasury staff apart – public employees who should otherwise be channeling their creative energies towards managing the nation’s finances better, so as to get Nigeria out of the woods and give Nigerians a breath of life!
“Even more curious is the fact that the current Head of Service benefitted from the rule in question, hence Nigerians now wonder – and for good reason – whether the rule which benefitted some public stewards doesn’t apply to others? After all, what is good for the goose is good for the gander?
“The CSGGG vehemently believes that apart from the fact that the most senior Director is being denied the entitlements due him or her for his or her diligent service to our fatherland, it is also true that our nation is mindlessly being robbed of the wealth of experience which that individual has garnered over the years, in readiness to bail the nation out of the current financial challenges bedeviling her.
“Therefore, to arrest this untoward development and set the Nation’s public Service back on the right trajectory, CSGGG hereby calls on President Muhammadu Buhari, the Head of Service of the federation, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and all those who are entrusted with the sanctity of our public service system, to immediately do the needful and put an end to this unholy trend of making a mockery of our public service and turning Nigeria into a laughing stock in the league of nations”.
He argued that the right thing to do in this case, is for the most senior director in the Federal Ministry of Finance, to be redeployed to the Office of the Accountant-General as the acting accountant general of the federation, pending when a substantive Accountant-General of the Federation would be appointed
We believe he said; “that this will restore confidence in the Nigerian public service and boost the morale of our public stewards down the line, as they will be motivated by the transparency in the appointment process and be encouraged to aspire to the top echelon in their careers and by so doing, benefit Nigeria immensely.
He noted that an assessment of the process reveals that there is an obvious attempt to scheme out a certain category of individuals. A close look reveals that the process of selecting a substantive Accountant-General of the Federation, has been monopolized as an exclusive club boasting of only Directors from 2017, systematically scheming out others who have equally spent their lifelong years in the service of their fatherland.
“As a group, we strongly believe that the Head of Service of the Federation is not only a respected citizen, but also a just and fair human being, who has the requisite know-how to select a competent exchequer for our nation’s treasury. We are therefore drawing her attention to these issues to enable her do the needful, as we remain unrepentantly confident in her sense of judgement.
We hope that our advice will not fall on deaf ears, because indeed, “a stitch in time saves nine.”
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