The Federal Capital Territory Joint Unions Action Committee has kicked against the posting of a permanent secretary to the FCT Administration by the Head of Service of the Federation.
Titus Okoro, the Chairman of the union, made this known at a news conference in Abuja on Saturday.
Okoro said some of the past permanent secretaries appointed to the FCTA by the Head of Service were junior officers to some directors in the FCTA.
He said this was unfair.
He, however, said the FCTA had senior directors who could be appointed as permanent secretaries of the FCTA rather than an external appointee.
He said the union was only taking steps to safeguard the future the staff as career civil servants and that of unborn generations by calling for the correction.
Okoro said: “It is disheartening when the Head of the Service of the Federation posts a junior officer to oversee the affairs of very senior directors in the FCTA.
“It is our conviction that if this administrations lacuna is not bridged now, then we are like babies in orphanage homes.
“In our considered views, it is absolutely anti-progressive and we as an organised body vehemently kick against the posting of a permanent secretary to FCTA by the service.”
Okoro said the union was not out to witch-hunt anyone imposed on the staff as permanent secretary, but to perverse and protect the FCTA.
Explaining the genesis of the administration, Okoro said the former Ministry of the FCT gave birth to the FCTA via Order 1 of 2004, which was later dissolved and was in the gazette in 2005 during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.
He said the dissolution of Order 1 in practical terms abolished the office of a Permanent Secretary in the FCTA as a quasi-state of the federation.
He quoted the Order as saying: “The Dissolution of Order 1 of 2004 simple states that the administrative and bureaucratic structure established and referred to as the Ministry of the FCT is hereby abolished with effect from December 31, 2004.”
Okoro added: “There shall be established for the FCT, the office of the Chief of Staff to the Minister.”
Okoro said rather than a permanent secretary, the Chief of Staff should be the designation of the officer in that cadre and should not be appointed by the head of service.
According to him, the future and immediate consequences of ignoring the dissolution of Order 1 can be best imagined.
The chairman called on the FCT Minster, Malam Muhammad Bello, to impress on President Muhammadu Buhari the need to revert the dissolution order for effective administrative structures.
Okoro also called on the National Assembly to pass into law the FCT Civil Service Commission and other Bills that would enhance effective administration as applicable in other states of the federation.
Korede Matilukuro, the Coordinating Chairman, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, FCTA/FCDA chapter, said the issue had been ongoing, adding that it was already before the National Assembly.
Matilukuro said the union’s grievance was from the fact that senior directors in the FCTA were not given opportunities to become permanent secretaries.
He said: “We have some of the best and experienced hands in the directorate cadre in the FCTA, who from their wealth of experience can help speed up development in the FCT.
“The FCTA is big enough to even have more than one permanent secretary thrown from our directors.
“By the implementation of Order 1 and with adequate amendment, we can be sure that people who understand the terrain will help speed up the development of the FCT.”
Matilukuro said the union decided to act now so the issue could be addressed once and for all.
He added that the union would continue to protest peacefully until the issue of posting external appointees as permanent secretary was resolved.
Christian Ohaa, the Permanent Secretary of the FCTA, is one of the newly posted permanent secretaries by the Federal Government.
Ohaa was posted from the Ministry of Sports.