Group alleges corruption in selection of permanent secretaries

A group, New Era For Sustainable Leadership and Accountability Initiative (NESLAI), has alleged that selection examination processes for permanent secretaries in the recent past have been fraught with corruption, outright fraud and all manner of malpractices.

The group also frowned on the appointment of non-career civil servants as permanent secretaries, which they say, dampens the morals of civil servants that have risen through the ranks.

The Executive Director of the initiative, Edwin Olorunfemi, who was in Abuja, decried the skewed process in the selection and appointment of permanent secretaries in federal ministries.

He, therefore, asked the Federal Government to jettison the examination process and use appraisal of the civil servants in terms of merit.

He said: “Further findings also revealed that the selection examinations processes in time past were laden with fraud, corruption and malpractices, as money were alleged to changehands between the examiners and desperate candidates to boost their scores, believing that they stand a better chance with higher scores.”

On the appointment of non-career civil servants, he said: “We must not be oblivious of the fact that as much as competence is important and required, appointing non-career civil servants as permanent secretaries should be discouraged as it dampens the morale of civil servants that have grown through the ranks and put in most active parts of their lives in service diligently.”

He said such actions invariably would prevent civil servants from getting to the peak of their career which also could lead to inefficiency and dereliction of duty in the civil service.