Workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have kicked against what they described as the “persistent posting of permanent secretaries” by Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (OHOSF) despite scraping of such office in the administration.
The aggrieved staff, under the aegis of FCT Joint Unions Action Committee (JUAC), stated that such deployment is an imposition on them, as it was replaced with the office of chief of staff.
Expressing their disappointment over the development at the weekend, chairman of the union, Comrade Titus Okoro, drew the attention of Head of Service of the Federation to the Dissolution Order 1 of 2004, which abolished the office of a permanent secretary in the FCTA, as a quasi state of the federation.
He said the Head of Service that the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory (MFCT) gave birth to FCTA through Order 1 of 2004, which removed the position of permanent Secretary.
The Dissolution Order 1 of 2004 states that: “The administrative and bureaucratic structure established and referred to as the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory is hereby abolished with effect from December 31, 2004.
“There shall be established for the Federal Capital Territory, the Office of the Chief of Staff to the Minister. The Chief of Staff shall be appointed by the Minister, and shall enjoy the conditions of service applicable to a Special Assistant in the Office of the President.
“The Chief of Staff shall perform the functions that a Secretary to the Government of a state customarily performs in relation to that state.”
The union faulted OHOSF, insisting on posting junior officers to oversee the affairs of senior directors in the FCTA, even when the administration had the finest crop of civil servants in all areas.
They therefore called on the FCT minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, to impress on President Muhammadu Buhari on the need to revert to the Dissolution Order 1of 2004 for effective administrative structures.
Similarly, the coordinating chairman, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), FCTA/FCDA chapter, Comrade Korede Matilukuro, noted that the last three permanent secretaries posted to the FCTA are junior officers to most directors in the administration.
He further called on the National Assembly to pass into law the FCT Civil Service Commission and other Bills that “will enhance effective administration as applicable in other states of the federation since the 1999 constitution recognises the FCT as one of the states.”
