Maina controversial reinstatement still under investigation ―FG

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the Federal Ministry of Finance to ensure that all outstanding claims and promotion arrears owed to the Federal Civil Servants are paid.

This came as the Federal Government has said that the controversial reinstatement of Abdulrasheed Maina, into the Federal Civil Service, is still under investigation.

Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, made the disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja while briefing newsmen on some of her achievements in the last one year.

She said the Maina reinstatement and subsequent sack by President Buhari, was a controversial issue that is still under investigation both at the National Assembly and Presidency.

She said no one has been punished in the whole saga yet because the matter was also on the Court and that it would be prejudicial for any disciplinary action to be taken against anybody.

She said: “On the issue of outstanding claims and arrears owed public servants which had accumulated as far back as 2012, I am pleased to report that with the approval of His Excellency, Mr President, the payment of the outstanding promotion arrears and other entitlements to the accounts of the beneficiaries has commenced.

“Similarly, a tripartite Committee on the upward review of salary and allowances of civil servants along with the Presidential Committee on minimum wage,” she said.

Oyo-Ita, however, noted that some of the key challenges faced in the administration of the Civil Service include paucity and untimely release of funds for programme implements.

She also noted that there was lack of requisite training for civil servants and the shortage of staff with requisite skills of modern office equipment and work tool.

She commended the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, for lifting the Service from the morass, saying Buhari inherited a “dead” Civil Service.

The Head of Service lamented that the Nigeria Civil Service was old in age and that this year alone, the Service would be losing many directors and deputy directors to retirement.

She said: “The Service is old in age. If you take a chart of the age range, you will know that this year alone we are going to lose a lot of directors and deputy directors through retirement.

“But they have to go and create space for the young ones. The young one’s intake has not been much as we would, because of economic reasons. For economic reason, we need to watch our manpower budget.

“The Federal government is trying to maintain a personal cost at an achievable level. We don’t want our recurrent expenditure to keep on exceeding more than 60 to 70 percent of the overall budget of the nation,” the Head of Service said.

She said it was unfortunate that illegal recruitment was ongoing in some government agencies, saying recruitment in Civil Service is done by the Federal Civil Service Commission, which is its constitutional mandate, including appointment, promotion and discipline.

“The Federal Civil Service Commission has been doing a good job but unfortunately, Nigerians can be rather smart and we have had cases of illegal recruitment going on.

“The Commission has introduced some very stringent methods for authentication before posting letters to MDAs. That is what we have the case of 285 undergoing this rigorous process with some of them found to be illegitimate.

“This administration will recruit Nigerians who are fit and proper to enter into the Federal Civil Service through the legitimate process but not through illegal means,” she said.