(
The Nation) - Senior civil servants have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the “injustice” perpetrated by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (HCSF) and the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) over their promotion examinations.
The senior civil servants, who are professionals in the accountant pool, accused the Head of Service’s office and the Civil Service Commission of manipulating service rules to demoralise long-serving and dedicated civil servants.
The aggrieved civil servants cited the last promotion examination held in Abuja last September for officers on directorate cadre as capable of derailing the civil service.
They alleged that the anomalies witnessed in the examination were unprecedented.
A civil service source, who spoke on behalf of those affected and pleaded not to be named, regretted that they were made to work in vain.
The source said: “The most affected officers were those on Grade Levels 14 and 15 that took the examination for the next grade level.
“In our opinion, Mr. President must act fast on this. About 189 officers sat for the examination for Assistant Directors’ Level. Over 200 sat for Deputy Directors’ examination.
“These officers were made to work hard for the examination, but it was like the authorities just played a trick on us.
“I say this because after an examination, it is incumbent on those that sat for it to know the result. But that was never the case in our own situation. We did not see our results; so we don’t know who passed or failed. There was no list we can refer to and that was against the rules.
“More demoralising is the fact that of about 189 that sat for the Assistant Director examination, only nine were promoted. Does that mean that the rest failed?”
The source added: “I think non-release of the result was to create room for manipulation because for accountants, 38 Assistant Director vacancies were declared by the Office of the Accountant General (OAGF) last year.
“So, the question is: what happened to the 31 vacancies left since only nine were promoted to the position of Assistant Director?
“The case of over 200 Assistant Directors that sat for the Deputy Directors’ examination was even worse.
“After the examination that also had no result list, the unfortunate senior civil servants were told there were no vacancies to fill. So, no promotion.
“Is there anything more demoralising and frustrating more than that?
“Again, the question is: why was the examination conducted and those concerned made to suffer, waste energy, time and resources at the risk of their lives?”
Among other demands, she said the aggrieved workers must be availed the results of the examinations as well as declaration of available vacancies before future examination.
“In addition, we want President Buhari to address this obnoxious issue of direct employment into directorate cadre.
“It should be discouraged and if not, it should be subjected to strict guidelines because as it is presently, there is nothing more demoralising than this direct appointment of people into the directorate cadre,” the source said.
The source added that failure to address the issue would be followed by an invitation to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and court action.
The FCSC, however, exonerated itself, denying any form of complicity in the said promotion examinations.
At a news conference last week, Chairman, Sub Committee on Promotion, FCSC Prof. Aminu Diyo Sheidu said the process leading to the examination involved other bodies and security agencies.
He said: “When all scores for each candidate were already added together, candidates in each cadre were ranked in their order of performance. Ranking was done using relevant computer software. But the accuracy was checked and rechecked over and over again by the commissioners with the active participation of the security personnel.
“Based on the vacancies approved by the OHCSF for each cadre, the best candidates were selected for promotion.
“I am sure you will agree with me that our Directorate Levels Promotion Examination processes and procedures are quite rigorous and painstaking. These procedures are measures adopted in self-regulations to ensure the integrity and transparency of the entire exercise.
“As you are all aware, a critical condition for promotion of an officer is the availability of vacancy. The FCSC has no control over the number of vacancies declared. The OHCSF does. The FCSC shall continuously strive to improve on the promotion processes and procedures. It will also work harmoniously with the OHCSF to improve vacancy availability.”
The Nation) - Senior civil servants have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the “injustice” perpetrated by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (HCSF) and the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) over their promotion examinations.
The senior civil servants, who are professionals in the accountant pool, accused the Head of Service’s office and the Civil Service Commission of manipulating service rules to demoralise long-serving and dedicated civil servants.
The aggrieved civil servants cited the last promotion examination held in Abuja last September for officers on directorate cadre as capable of derailing the civil service.
They alleged that the anomalies witnessed in the examination were unprecedented.
A civil service source, who spoke on behalf of those affected and pleaded not to be named, regretted that they were made to work in vain.
The source said: “The most affected officers were those on Grade Levels 14 and 15 that took the examination for the next grade level.
“In our opinion, Mr. President must act fast on this. About 189 officers sat for the examination for Assistant Directors’ Level. Over 200 sat for Deputy Directors’ examination.
“These officers were made to work hard for the examination, but it was like the authorities just played a trick on us.
“I say this because after an examination, it is incumbent on those that sat for it to know the result. But that was never the case in our own situation. We did not see our results; so we don’t know who passed or failed. There was no list we can refer to and that was against the rules.
“More demoralising is the fact that of about 189 that sat for the Assistant Director examination, only nine were promoted. Does that mean that the rest failed?”
The source added: “I think non-release of the result was to create room for manipulation because for accountants, 38 Assistant Director vacancies were declared by the Office of the Accountant General (OAGF) last year.
“So, the question is: what happened to the 31 vacancies left since only nine were promoted to the position of Assistant Director?
“The case of over 200 Assistant Directors that sat for the Deputy Directors’ examination was even worse.
“After the examination that also had no result list, the unfortunate senior civil servants were told there were no vacancies to fill. So, no promotion.
“Is there anything more demoralising and frustrating more than that?
“Again, the question is: why was the examination conducted and those concerned made to suffer, waste energy, time and resources at the risk of their lives?”
Among other demands, she said the aggrieved workers must be availed the results of the examinations as well as declaration of available vacancies before future examination.
“In addition, we want President Buhari to address this obnoxious issue of direct employment into directorate cadre.
“It should be discouraged and if not, it should be subjected to strict guidelines because as it is presently, there is nothing more demoralising than this direct appointment of people into the directorate cadre,” the source said.
The source added that failure to address the issue would be followed by an invitation to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and court action.
The FCSC, however, exonerated itself, denying any form of complicity in the said promotion examinations.
At a news conference last week, Chairman, Sub Committee on Promotion, FCSC Prof. Aminu Diyo Sheidu said the process leading to the examination involved other bodies and security agencies.
He said: “When all scores for each candidate were already added together, candidates in each cadre were ranked in their order of performance. Ranking was done using relevant computer software. But the accuracy was checked and rechecked over and over again by the commissioners with the active participation of the security personnel.
“Based on the vacancies approved by the OHCSF for each cadre, the best candidates were selected for promotion.
“I am sure you will agree with me that our Directorate Levels Promotion Examination processes and procedures are quite rigorous and painstaking. These procedures are measures adopted in self-regulations to ensure the integrity and transparency of the entire exercise.
“As you are all aware, a critical condition for promotion of an officer is the availability of vacancy. The FCSC has no control over the number of vacancies declared. The OHCSF does. The FCSC shall continuously strive to improve on the promotion processes and procedures. It will also work harmoniously with the OHCSF to improve vacancy availability.”
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