Buhari approves appointment of 4 new Permanent Secretaries amid controversy

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of four (4) new Permanent Secretaries including the Solicitor General of the Federation/Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice in the Federal Civil Service following the recently conducted selection process.

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, made this known on Friday in Abuja, even though the selection process of the Permanent Secretaries is being challenged at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria by some aggrieved directors.

Yemi-Esan announced the appointment in a statement signed by the Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations in her office, Mohammed Ahmed Abdullahi, said made available to newsmen in Abuja.

According to the statement, the appointed Federal Permanent Secretaries and their states of origin, where applicable, are as follows: Ogbe Mary Ada, Benue; Shehu Ibrahim Jigawa; Daju Kachallom Shangti; Plateau and Jedy-Agba Beatrice Ejodamen, Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice.

The Head of Service indicated that a date for the swearing-in and deployment of the new appointees would be announced in due course.

Recall that the National Industrial Court of Nigeria sitting in Abuja had fixed May 30, 2022, for hearing of court contempt charges against the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, over the selection process of new Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Civil Service.

About 17 directors were disqualified by the screening committee from taking the permanent secretary written examination which was held 21st February 2022 on grounds that they were “ghost” workers.

Worried by the development, the aggrieved directors approached the National Industrial Court of Nigeria before Her Ladyship Hon. Justice O.A Obaseki-Osaghae in suit No.NICN/ABJ/47/2022 with motion ex-parte seeking to be allowed to participate in the permanent secretary selection process as well as carry out the other processes.

Lawyers to the aggrieved directors also sue the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan for charges of contempt of court, on the grounds that she and the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System Consultant refused to comply with earlier court orders to open the IPPIS Portal for participating directors to update their records as well as participate in the processes for the selection of Permanent Secretaries.

Most of the affected directors claimed that they have been working with the Federal Service for over 30 years and receiving their salaries regularly but alleged that they were denied the opportunity to update their records on the IPPIS platform in order to print the IPPIS information slip.

When the matter came up on Thursday last week, before Her Ladyship Hon. Justice O.A Obaseki-Osaghae in suit No.NICN/ABJ/47/2022, the Court adjourned till further date so that all the motions in the suit could be heard at once and decided accordingly.

Counsels to the defendants, the Head of Service of the Federation, Permanent Secretary Selection Committee and Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice who was later joined in the suit and represented by the Ministry of Justice, filed multiple applications challenging the jurisdiction of the Court to hear the matter.

Justice Obaseki-Osaghae, however, asked the parties to take a date for a hearing of all the motions base on their merits.

The Counsel to the aggrieved directors, Bemdoo Hassan from Municipal Solicitors, told newsmen that they were in Court to challenge the process of selection of the new Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Civil Service that was just concluded.

He said: “We were in court today to move some of our motions but the defendants in this suit have filed several motions and most of them are not ripe for hearing because we were just served.

“So, the matter was adjourned till further date so that all the motions in the suit can be heard at once and decided accordingly.”

Hassan added that the three defendants were represented by two lawyers, the Second and Third represented by the Ministry of Justice while the First Defendant was represented by a private lawyer.

“Both filed a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the Court and counter Affidavit to our pending motions before the court.

“We are just served and we are within time to respond, so we took a date for all the applications to be heard on merit before the court.

He, however, insisted that the issue was a labour matter and the right place to go, saying he was optimistic that justice would be done to his clients in the matter.

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents

In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…Buhari approves appointment  Buhari approves appointment

Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train

The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…Buhari approves appointment  Buhari approves appointment