Abiodun pledges budgetary support for cancer awareness campaign

Fresh crisis is brewing in the Ogun State Civil Service, following the alleged move by the State Civil Service Commission to overturn the directive of Governor Dapo Abiodun and the approved guidelines of the Federal Government’s National Council on Establishments (NCE) on the implementation of the lateral transfer policy for Executive Officers (EOs).

According to a circular issued by the Bureau of Establishments and Training, Executive Officers on Grade Levels 14, 13, and 12 seeking transfer were to be placed one grade level below, while those on Grade Levels 10, 09, and 08 were to retain their existing levels, without financial implications.

The circular, which took effect from August 1, 2024, was in full compliance with the Federal Government’s harmonised scheme of service and duly approved by Abiodun to promote fairness and end years of HND–B.Sc. discrimination.

However, The Guardian learnt that the Commission reportedly manipulated the implementation, demoting several qualified officers contrary to the approved directive.

Sources revealed that while some ministries, including Environment and Health, followed the governor’s directive, others ignored it, placing officers two to four grade levels below their current positions.

Some of the labour leaders, who also condemned the development, accused the CSC of undermining workers’ morale and jeopardising industrial peace. They warned that such actions could further deepen distrust within the system and resurrect the old rift between Executive Officers and Professional Officers in the state service.

Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the Governor, Kayode Akinmade, in his reaction, noted that the civil service has its own rules and regulations, saying: “For instance, if somebody was employed with Higher National Diploma (HND), and in the course of the employment, the person acquires an additional certificate and wants to upgrade, an HND holder cannot be on administrative cadre.

“So, for you to become an administrative cadre, which is customary to all ministries and parastatals across the country, they have to lose a grade level or whatever. For one to talk extensively on this, there is a need to get their civil service rules, in terms of how to change from one cadre to another.”

MEANWHILE, Ogun State Governor has pledged that his administration will provide the necessary budgetary support to boost cancer awareness, early detection, and treatment across the state.

The governor made this known yesterday when he received a cancer awareness and screening team in Abeokuta during the commissioning of a free breast screening centre — the second of its kind in the country.

The delegation included the wife of the governor of Imo State, Chioma Uzodimma; wife of the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Dr Zainab Bagudu, who also serves as the President-elect of the Union for International Cancer Control; wife of the Ogun State Governor, Bamidele Abiodun; General Manager of Roche Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Company, and the Ogun State Commissioners for Health and Women Affairs and Social Development, among others.

Abiodun emphasised that cancer is no respecter of status, wealth, or affluence, stressing the importance of early detection and treatment to save lives.

Earlier, Uzodimma explained that the team’s visit was part of a broader campaign on breast cancer awareness, conducted in partnership with Roche Healthcare and the Ogun State Government.

In her remark, Abiodun commended Roche Healthcare for donating a free breast screening centre to the Oba Ademola Hospital, Abeokuta, describing the gesture as a significant boost to healthcare delivery in the state.

General Manager of Roche Healthcare, Dr Ladipo Hammed, noted that the company seeks partnerships during the breast cancer awareness month to support healthcare systems nationwide, emphasising that early detection remains a key factor in reducing cancer mortality.

Also speaking, Dr Bagudu called for continuous follow-up, sustainability, and the institutionalisation of cancer awareness and screening programmes in Nigeria’s health policies and legal frameworks.