OVER 400 serving Deputy Directors in the Federal Civil Service have solicited the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Assembly and other Nigerians over denial of promotions to the position of Directors, in line with extant civil service rules.
The aggrieved officials, under the aegis of Concerned Deputy Directors (Administration), made the plea in separate petitions dated February 2 and May 19 to the Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC); President Buhari, House of Representatives’ Committee on Public Service Matters; Chairman, Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service and Secretary, Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries (CORFEPS).
According to the aggrieved officials, “Deputy Directors (Administration) were promoted last in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and have matured to be considered for promotion to the post of Directors (Administration) in years 2015, 2016 and 2017 but have not been given the opportunity to sit for the examination as a result of a lingering crisis of litigation.”
The affected public servants, who denied knowledge of the litigation filed by six others who dragged the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and Federal Civil Service Commission before the National Industrial Court, Abuja, noted that “most of the aggrieved officers have retired from the Federal Civil Service.”
According to them: “It is our conviction that this will definitely amount to travesty of justice for those of us who were abi-nitio not involved in the ongoing litigation to continue to suffer denials of not being availed the opportunity to sit for the competitive promotion examination as and when due (2025, 2016, 2017 and only God knows when the case would be determined).
“The continued delay and frustration in allowing officers in the Administrative Cadre to rise to SGL 17 as prescribed in the schemes of service and others, adversely affect the growth and due contributions to nation building. Where this lingers beyond year 2017 which to us is already too long, and no doubt send wrong signals to the observing public and will degenerate to Service inability to attract and retain Nigerians who opt to pursue career in Federal Civil Service will sincerely choose the Civil Service as a career to come in at the entry point.
“It is our passionate plea that the Federal Civil Service Commission should urgently consider the plight of officers in the Cadre who have been and are still being stagnated since 2015 to expeditiously seek means of resolving the matter amicably in the interest of the public.’’
Speaking on the development, the Deputy Director, Press, in the Federal Civil Service Commission, Dr Joel Oruche, confirmed the development, but said the matter was before a court of competent jurisdiction and as such he could not comment on it until he sought for clarification.
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