Civil servants kick, want Buhari to reverse suspension of eight-year tenure

• ‘It’s retrogressive, will stagnate workers’ promotion, stifle dedication’

Federal civil servants are bristling with rage at the suspension of the eight-year tenure policy for directors and permanent secretaries.

They want President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse the suspension which they have described as anti-people, retrogressive, and capable of further stagnating their promotions.

The reversal, they say, will engender peace, good governance, transparency and accountability in the service and polity.

Some months ago, news about the tenure policy in the Federal Civil Service came as a rude shock to federal workers, who had the hope of reaching the peak of their career which is the rank of a permanent secretary.

It started with a circular to Ministries, Departments and Agencies signed by the Head of the Civil Service (HOS) of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita which read in part: ‘’The Federal Government has suspended the tenure policy in the Federal Civil Service with immediate effect.”

The eight-year tenure policy was introduced by former HOS of the Federation, Mr. Steve Oronsaye, and approved by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to arrest the agitation of aggrieved deputy-directors who had gone to court to argue against the promotion of officers who came from outside government to join the service midway but were getting promoted to the directorate levels ahead of them.

According to findings, the new tenure policy states that as a director, once an officer spends eight years on the cadre, he or she should expect to be retired without consideration as to whether he or she has attained the mandatory 60 years of age or has put in 35 years in service.

The policy which The Guardian learnt, shocked workers, was responsible for the mass retirement of several directors and permanent secretaries from the service between 2007 and 2009 which later gave room for the promotion of several others.

Speaking with The Guardian, an assistant director described the policy as retrogressive.

His words: ‘’It is expedient to bridge the gap between those that came into the service from outside and those of us who joined after our National Youth Service.

“So you can see that it is only those who come from outside that will now stay up to eight years as directors. But we say the eight-year tenure policy was the best that ever happened to the civil service and should be retained.

“The reversal by President Buhari shows that the politicians are at it again, because this development will favour them and their cronies. The policy is anti-people; a lot of career civil servants may not get their promotions as and when due any longer, especially, the core civil servants as the suspension will raise the ‘no vacancy’ issue again.”

His position is shared by others within the same level who were expecting elevation before the suspension by Buhari.

In his comments, the chairman, Civil Service Workers Union in the Office of the HOS, Bisi Sunday Olaiya said the implication is that qualified officers will stagnate, unable to move up the ladder any longer.

He said the union has already written to government through the Office of the HOS for a reversal of the policy but is yet to get a reply.

‘’Up till now, we are still waiting. We consult widely before taking action, but if government fails to withdraw the policy, we may have no other option but to call for a strike.”

Also, an assistant director in the Ministry of Power told The Guardian: ‘’Once somebody is qualified to move to the next level after taking the examinations and passed, he or she should be promoted accordingly. If the issue stays as the government wants it now, then several officials will be frustrated.’’

Another director in a department of the Finance Ministry who also sought anonymity said: ‘’ It is wrong for government to turn around the eight-year tenure policy. This means that there will be no movement upwards for career civil servants.

“Already, there are agitations that people are not promoted as and when due, people come from outside and get promoted above their counterparts who are career civil servants. That is wrong, there are people who graduated in 1982, 83 and 84 yet to get promotions to the directorate levels but some people who graduated in 1990 are being promoted as directors because they came into the service from outside. I am advising that the president should look inwards.

“There are very qualified civil servants who have been denied promotions. He can even appoint permanent secretaries from such groups, they are better than those who came into the service from outside.

‘’The reversal of this policy simply demonstrates the subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which politics often trumps policy and reform in Nigeria. I doubt if anyone would be able to seriously fault its significance as a plank in any effort to take the civil service, and especially its senior level cadre, to the next level in terms of productivity and performance.

“The tenure policy is not a stand-alone policy; it does not exist or cease to exist for its own sake. On the contrary, its effectiveness or lack of it, in global administrative best practices, is tied to its specific function in the performance record of the civil service.

“All across the globe, from USA and the UK to the Netherlands and France, the tenure policy issue goes beyond the career progression of the civil servants; it has often been tied to the urgency of achieving a result-oriented civil service that is lean, economical, effective and efficient.”