By Chizoba Ogbeche
Abuja
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoS), Winifred Oyo-Ita, has faulted the sack of 95 staff by the Police Service Commission (PSC) in March, 2017.
The HoS said the Commission should have complied with the court judgement asking it to regularise the appointment of the workers since it did not appeal against the court order.
In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Commission, Mike Okiro, Oyo-Ita directed the agency to recall the 95 workers to avoid actions that might embarrass the government through court execution against government property, accounts or officials.
The letter dated June 1, 2017, with reference number, HCSF/LU/CORR/SGF/833/III, was signed by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan on behalf of the HoS.
It read in part: “The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation advised that where there no appeals against valid judgments of courts, efforts should be made to ensure compliance to avoid embarrassment to government arising from the enforcement of same by ways of execution against government properties, against accounts of MDAs and committal proceedings against government functionaries.”
The directive was in response to a letter by Femi Falana Law Chambers to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, in which it threatened to obtain damages against the government for flouting a court order in respect of the sacked workers.
The legal luminary drew the AGF’s attention to the huge financial debt the commission would incur against the federal government if it continued to disobey the order of the National Industrial Court.
Falana, in the letter, said the Commission refused to capture his client’s names in the Integrated Personal Payroll Information System (IPPIS), thereby denying them their salaries and allowances from April, 2013 till date.
This he said was a clear violation of Regulation 040102 and 130105 of the Federal Government Public Service Rules.”
When contacted, the PSC spokesperson, Ikechukwu Ani, said he was not aware of the HoS directive and could not comment on it.
It would be recalled that Justice E. D. Isele of the NIC had, in his ruling dated October 18, 2016, described as “illegal” the refusal of the Commission to pay the workers their salaries and allowances.
