There is growing tension in the National Orientation Agency (NOA) following alleged refusal of three directors to retire from service, long after they were due.

It was gathered that four of the directors and some other staff have been battling over whether they should have left service or not.

The other staff are not comfortable with the situation because the continued stay of the directors, allegedly on the orders of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), is stalling the growth of other senior officials who should move up and create room for progression of others down the ladder.

The Director-General of the agency, Mr. Mike Omeri, told The Guardian on phone that the situation was being resolved amicably. One of the four directors was said not to be ready to quit because he believes he is not due for retirement based on a letter from the OHCSF.

The staff of NOA were mobilizing for a showdown two weeks ago, but it was learnt that the situation took a new turn last week when one director left, while two of them promised to leave in April. The Director-General confirmed the decision of the two to leave but said he was consulting with the OHCSF to determine when the third should leave.

According to some staff, the three national directors ought to have retired from service last year. They were said to have spent eight years since their last promotion took effect from January 1, 2008.

“We are yet to understand the rationale behind the elongation of their tenure by the Office of the Head of Service as the three directors claimed. The Civil Service rules stipulate eight years for the tenure of directors in the Public Service. If the civil service rules have not been amended, there is no basis for tenure elongation on flimsy excuse,” they noted in a petition.

“We believe they were able to achieve their motive with the assistance of some dubious persons in the office of the Head of Service shortly before the end of the tenure of (former President) Jonathan’s administration in 2015. Their action was based on the premise that the former President was going to win the last election,” they said further.

To give vent to their anger and disappointment at what they described as “impunity and indiscipline,” the workers, in the agency vested with the responsibility of bringing a moral rebirth of the citizenry, began to mobilize for a nationwide strike.

But first, they want President Mohammadu Buhari to wade into the matter and deal with all those involved to serve as a lesson to others.

The staff believe that the action of the affected directors and “their ally in the OHCSF is anti-theatrical to the change mantra of the present government” adding that if allowed to go would be a dangerous precedent.