Olusade Adesola, Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration, has called for a review of the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory Dissolution Order No. 1, 2004, popularly known as: “Order 1.”
The Permanent Secretary said the review of the order would effectively address burning administrative issues in the FCT.
Adesola made the call at a ceremony in honour of some aides to the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, and the Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Aliyu, held in Abuja.
The Permanent Secretary noted that though the implementation of the Order was “desirable and expedient, it does not cater for the career of the civil servants element, who should be the largest beneficiaries of it”.
He also bemoaned the order for making the Secretary of the FCTA Secretariat a legal adviser between GL10 and GL12, adding: “Meaning that the Directors in the offices would have to be reporting to the Mandate Secretary as the Chief Accounting Officer, through a subordinate colleague, which is a disservice to them.
“The order 1, 2004, that withdrew us from the mainstream service and benched us in this system did not do anything to look at what will be the future career of civil servants in the FCT.
“What this speaks to is that the conversation on Order 1, 2004 is just beginning.
“We need to sit down to review this Order, particularly as it concerns the civil servants.”
The Permanent Secretary also noted that establishment of the FCT Civil Service Commission cannot bridge the gap, adding that a commission has its functions different from those of the offices of the Permanent Secretary and Department of Human Resources Management.
Adesola added: “A lot of proposals and initiatives are in the offing, and I believe when the new administration comes, this will be a very major issue that will have to be reviewed, in order to address issues affecting the career of the civil servants.
“I believe going forward that the media will join hands with us from the position of information rather than position of misinformation.
“This is because the media had been used to propagate the demand for civil service commission for FCT without proper appreciation of the limitation of the Commission.”
Adesola expressed confidence that the incoming administration would look passionately into the career of the civil servants and address the bottlenecks that exists.
