Ogun Senior Public Servants Decry Retirement Procedure

Senior public servants in Ogun State civil service have decried the procedure adopted by the state government to retire 19 Permanent Secretaries (PS) in the Sate Public Service.

The public servants, under the aegis of the Association of Senior Civil Servants in Nigeria, ASCSN, Ogun State chapter noted that the step taken by the government to retire the PS was akin to the approach used by the military government under the late General Murtala Muhammed and Olusegun Obasanjo between 1975/1976.

In statement signed by the Secretary, Seyi Adebanjo, the union recalled that that military action “caused cataclysm which the nation’s public service at the national, state and local government levels are yet to recover from.

“When the duo discovered that in their haste to reform the public service they had thrown away the babies and the bath water, they set up Monsignor Pedro Committee to review the cases.

“Alas! The damage had been done. It was not a surprise when the exponent of retirement without benefit Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo came to power the second time, set up many reform programmes for the public service to undo what he perpetrated earlier. No doubt if he comes to power again, another reform will surely come ashore.”

Adebanjo stated that the association “believes that it is against natural justice to cut people down in their prime. The Public Service rules say the maximum period of service is 35 years or 60 whichever comes earlier to leave the public service.”

He added that attaining such post attracted a minimum of 20 years post qualification experience, “coupled with training courses both locally and externally and to be discarded like a sucked orange smacks of ingratitude and indifference to human relations at work.

“The association hopes a wrong signal has not been sent across the length and breadth of the public service.”

The group enjoined the state government to follow due process as laid down by the 1999 Constitution, the Public Service Rules and the White paper on Ayida Panel reform, pointing out that, “this will save everybody unnecessary bickering and dissipation of energy that should better be used elsewhere.”

By Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta