Workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA, have rejected the posting of a new Permanent Secretary, Dr Magdalene Ajani, calling for the full implementation of the FCT Civil Service Commission Law, 2018, which provided for the appointment of a chief accounting officer from within the Administration.
The workers under the aegis of Joint Unions Action Committee JUAC, protested the deployment today, reports Vanguard.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation had announced President Bola Tinubu’s approval for posting of 24 permanent secretaries in Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Ajani was consequently redeployed from the Transportation Ministry to the FCTA to replace the current Permanent Secretary, Mr Olusade Adesola, who would retire on Jan. 29.
JUAC President, Mr Matilukuro Korede, who spoke on behalf of the workers challenged the deployment, which he described as an aberration to the FCT CSC Law.
According to Korede, the Federal Executive Council had in October 2023, approved the implementation of the law establishing a CSC for FCT.
“Last Thursday, we heard that the head of service has announced that she has gotten approval from President Tinubu to deploy another Permanent Secretary to FCT. We felt aggrieved because it is an aberration. As we speak now, the FCT CSC Law has been gazetted since 2018,” he said.
He said since 2004, the staff of FCTA had been deprived of becoming permanent secretaries, adding that the law to make it possible was signed in 2018 but implementation became a problem.
He said that Wike took the issue and within a month, secured President Tinubu’s approval for the implementation of the law.
“But to our surprise, the Head of Service decided to include a name for appointment as permanent secretary for the FCT.
“As far as FCT is concerned, the permanent secretary should be appointed among the qualified directors in the FCTA and not from outside.
“This will provide an opportunity for the staff of FCTA to get to the peak of their career by becoming a permanent secretary.
“Our demand, therefore, is that the appointment of a permanent secretary outside the FCTA is an aberration and an anomaly that should be corrected.
“We are waiting for the implementation of the FCT Civil Service Commission. But between now and then, the law must be obeyed and what we know is that FCT CSC has come to stay,” he added.
