In continuation of my series on the relationship between Okorocha and Imo Workers, undoubtably, the state governor may have earned ranks among the former Chief executives officers who ruled this state concerning meddling into the affairs of the civil servants. I can confidently state that no governor in Imo state has unnecessarily retired any permanent secretary who is due for retirement by age and length of service.
To showcase a rather partisan interest in the civil service, Okorocha again handed down compulsory retirement to six serving permanent secretaries of the state ministry. Though no official reason has been communicated to the general public concerning the unexpected bombshell but a cursory overview of the action indicates that the decision could be vindictive since not all the serving permanents secretaries were affected by the renewed “operation show Perm Secs”
I am not an expert in civil service rules and since the matter is receiving attention at the Industrial Court courtesy of the sacked permanent secretaries who dragged the state government to court, I reserve my comment to avoid contempt of court or prejudicial commentaries. However, it is obvious to state that, this is the only recorded time in Imo history where permanent secretaries were sent packing from the state workforce without any cogent reason. Even during the reign of a rather fascist and authoritarian military administrations, rules guiding civil servants were sacrosanct and never circumvented by subsequent military governors. It is therefore ironical that the regulations regarding termination of service of a high ranking worker could be tampered within a democratic session without the parties involved in the government tripod; legislature and judiciary raising a hoot.
I am also aware that permanent secretaries are not political appointees or elected public office holders who have tenure and may be shoved aside by their principals for undisclosed reasons.
It is a common norm enshrined by civil service rule that Perm Secs can only bow out after attaining the age of retirement and exhausting their length of service. To justify that their abrupt removal from the civil service can observe legal remedies, recent reports from the courts gave the affected permanent secretaries green light to go ahead in challenging Okorocha’s action. In the round one of the case, the Industrial Court knocked out the interlocutory injunction filed by the state government to kill the matter when it ruled that it has jurisdiction and that the application lacks merit. Until the matter is finally decided in court who expects the embattled Perm Secs to join the recent May Day Celebrations referring to the Workers’ Day and Okorocha self-acclaimed Freedom Day Celebrations in Imo state.
Having succeeded in truncating the career of the civil servants, the governor went further to interfere in laid down procedure in civil service redeployment procedure. One common factor that appears unnoticed but obstructive to the operations of civil servants in the state is the misplaced suspension and subsequent transfer of heads of government agencies and parastatals. To kick start what I will refer to as the “chancing game, Okorocha in the last reshufflement of Perm Secs removed the Accountant General of the state and brought in a serving Perm Sec to take over. George Eche until recently was the Accountant General of the state until Mrs Udogu, was assigned to be in charge of the state accounts. I am not for or against the removal of Eche from the Accountant General Office or coming of Udogu since I have nothing in common with them but my grouse is that there are procedures for appointments of accountant-general of the state and similar offices like auditor-general of the state. Persons to be appointed to such offices must have gone through the office and reached status of a Director of that particular government establishment and not a Perm Sec which is above the rank of director. Using Perm Sec to replace a Director is a misnomer. Eche is not a pronounced Perm Sec and I am yet to be convinced that Account-General of a state and auditor-general or surveyor-general of any state is equivalent to position of a Perm Sec. besides somebody that should have replaced Eche if he is going a step higher should have been a professional accountant in the Accountant General’s office or Ministry of Finance not above the rank of Director. Considering that account-general’s office is under Ministry of Finance which has a Permanent Secretary, will the new Perm Sec in charge Mrs Udogu be answerable to a fellow Perm Sec in charge of Finance Ministry because government reduced her ranking in the service below her position?
I am not also surprised that workers in the state are tossed around as if they are working in the private estate of the Chief Executive Officer of the state. Without recourse to official procedures and traditional practices, Heads of some selected parastatals have been booted out form office for unjustifiable reasons.
In the scene one of the drama, rumours were rife that Okorocha intends to continue giving political appointments to his numerous aides using government agencies and parastatsls. Before the rumour could properly hit town, letters were extended to the affected heads to get set for a panel of inquiry set up by the state government for purposes of verification and determination of allegations of fraud and mismanagement against them.
While the heads of the establishment were getting set with relevant items to enable the panel of inquiry exercise their functions, Okorocha moved in and announced their suspension in the state radio with an order asking them to vacate office and hand over to the next person in their respective working places.
The surprised suspended heads of parastatals who were yet to face any panel or indicted by the authorized government bodies like Civil Service Commission and office of the Head of Service got another marching order to either vacate or face arrests. According to the bemused top civil servants, public announcements of their suspension signed by one of the aides of the governor and aired in the state radio and TV stations is not enough to quit them from office if events between Okorocha and sacked 10,000 job beneficiaries and elected council chairmen and councilors are anything to go by. In the process of waiting for the signed suspension letters, the earlier prediction that the governor is planning to use politicians to “chance” career civil servants as heads of parastatals manifested with fresh announcement assigning the government establishment to Okorocha’s lieutenants and co-travellers in his APC party.
One salient point that should have been on the lips of the public is the offence of the suspended heads of parastatals who were recently sent packing? Are their no rules guiding disciplinary sanctions to career civil servants again? Why would the state governor be in a hurry to push away those who had employments in government working places years before he dreamt of becoming a governor, even before the panel of inquiry he instituted began its job and why should the non partisan workers this time be his sacrificial lamb? Some of the parastatal Heads who do not want to be victims of the mere pronouncements and do not want to vacate their respective offices without getting official suspension letter resisted their ouster until official information is received . I am aware that to avoid further brickbats with the government the sanctioned workers have to bow out to avoid further victimization of their career. And today, despite warning and alarm raised by arm of the labour union; Joint Negotiating Council, JNC headed by Comrade Coleman Okwara plans to remove career civil servants to pave way for political appointees, new lists of the governor’s acolytes and party men were reeled out to take over the offices.
Irrespective of the educational qualifications of the new appointees and professional background to the government agencies and parastatals the new appointees have been asked to take charge, the action can be said to be a miscarriage of policies as it would greatly hamper operation of government establishments in the state. Moreso, a frightening dimension has been entrenched in civil service structure where the workers are at the mercy of any government in power as it can without resistance meddle into the affairs of the workforce.
Ironically, there were no official reports and reasons to the state governor from appropriate quarters of the civil service to the Governor to warrant the changes.
The latest entrant to the scene, the 25,000 Youth-Must-Work job scheme beneficiaries have started to “carry their cross” from the Okorocha government. Three years after abandoning the 10,000 jobs program, the Rescue Mission came up with the 25,000 jobs. The hallmark of the Youth-Must-Work-Program is the introduction of casualisation working policy in Imo workforce. Contrary to what was obtained in the past, where employees of the state government are absorbed through best practices of employment. The new scheme is a sham arrangement. The 25,000 job scheme is in sharp contrast to the rejected 10,000 job which the state governor abandoned moments after he assumed office in May 2011. If not for political reasons, the Okorocha government would have known that unlike his job program where no feasibility studies were taken, the 10,000 job began in 2010 when the immediate past government constituted a committee to asses level of openings and vacancies in the workforce with a view to finding qualified graduates in all professions to fill the gaps. The state civil service commission and local government service commission were also involved in the exercise.
To avoid bias and nepotism a major player in employment consultancy sector, KPMG was involved in recruitment as the jobs were advertised in both local and national newspapers. Examinations were conducted to ascertain the intellectual capabilities of the graduate applicants before the oral interview. At the end of the exercise, appointment letters were given to the employed youths by the authorized workers’ commissions in line with civil service rules and regulations. The 10,000 jobs were integrated into the system and earned all entitlements due to them until Okorocha wished them away after getting the electorates mandate.
The 25,000 Jobs can be said to be an aberration and not a civil service job because the authorized bodies concerned with affairs of Imo workers like Civil Service Commission and Local Government Service Commission are not involved.
Instead Ministry of Youths and Sports, a single body among the numerous ministries and government manned by a commissioner from the governor’s locality took chare of recruitment of the supposed beneficiaries.
More glaring in the exercise is the deceit employed in the exercise. Recall that in middle of 2012, the House of Assembly passed into law a Bill to establish Imo State Transport Management Authority, ISTMA and subsequently the body asked applicants to pay N1, 500 for forma. After due interview and trainings, the new employees began work but could not get due privileges due to them in all ramifications. Instead of getting the prerequisite monthly pay due to a civil servant, the disbanded ISTMA were not only owed but never benefited from the state government backed by law. The fate of the workers is still hanging in the balance.
How the aforementioned persons celebrated the May Day with the governor at Heroes Square and Freedom Day at the Freedom Square is better observed than imagined.
