FEDERAL CIVIL SERVANTS NOW PAY N5M FOR PROMOTION

Dirty...
A cabal in the Federal Civil Service Commission is doing all it can to
sustain its grip on the promotion of senior cadres in the federal
bureaucracy as the federal government attempts to check the excess of...

the group.
LEADERSHIP Weekend learnt that some top civil servants from the level
of deputy directors paid between N5million and N10million to be
cleared for promotion as directors. Those who could not pay were
stagnated for over a decade.
The illicit activities of the group allegedly came to the limelight
when the federal government appointed Deaconess J.O. Ayo as the
chairman of the commission and mandated her to sanitise the promotion
exercise, especially for senior servants who had inundated the
presidency with complaints on the exploitation of the cabal.
Sources in the commission disclosed to our correspondent that the top
civil servants responsible for the exercise resisted Ayo's appointment
and did all they could to frustrate her, including dropping charms in
and around her office apparently to intimidate her.
Although there were claims that the commission's boss had cut the
cabal to size, sources said that all was not entirely well with the
exercise as the cabal had only changed its tactics.
According to one of the sources, the cabal that had been in charge of
promotion has been rendered impotent because officers whose promotions
were embargoed because they did not play ball now have cause to
celebrate.
LEADERSHIP Weekend learnt that since Deaconess Ayo assumed office, no
fewer than 2,672 federal civil servants had scaled through the yearly
directorate level promotion examinations, representing over 29 per
cent increase compared to those who sat for same exams last year
without the usual corrupt practice.
According to an insider, there was a cabal that had hijacked the
promotion exercise and officers were made to pay as much as N5 million
to earn their promotion from assistant director to deputy director
while those moving from deputy to director used to pay more.
"I had been a deputy director since 1998 all because I could not pay a
minimum of N5milion; I strongly believed my promotion would come
without bribing these people and God has done it; thank God for
President Goodluck Jonathan who appointed Deaconess Ayo as the
chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission.
Nobody asked for a dime from us; we all sat for the examination and
the results are out and I am now a director," a civil servant told our
correspondent.
Also, a newly promoted deputy director said: "I was supposed to have
become a deputy director since the last five years but the powers that
be would not let that be; this year, we were all surprised when about
100 vacancies were declared in our office, and I thank God I am one of
the deputy directors."
Another official who benefitted from the promotion said integrity,
hard work, impartiality and dignity will soon be back in the civil
service. According to her, "the era of money for promotion has ended;
may God bless this woman for us.
As long as you are hardworking, your promotion is guaranteed. This is
how things should be."
According to the spokesman of the commission, Joel Oruche, a total of
4, 493 officers participated in the 2013 promotion for the directorate
levels, with 2, 672, representing 59. 57 per cent, emerging
successful.
According to him, the latest record is "against the 2012 record of 4,
034 officers with only 1, 229 being promoted, representing 30. 6 per
cent of the participants".
He said the improved scores were as a result of steps taken by the
FCSC and other stakeholders led by the chairman of the commission to
ensure a fair and objective exercise.
According to him, measures that resulted in the success include:
"Putting on hold the indiscriminate transfer of officers into the
federal civil service, abolition of proper placement which is an
aberration that is not traceable to any rules and regulations or
guidelines in the civil service.
"Others are strict adherence and enforcement of cancellation of
notional promotion and streamlining of promotion exercises on annual
basis which has led to clearance of promotion backlog."
When contacted on the development, Deaconess Ayo simply said: "The
glory belongs to God and not to me or any member of my team.
All we want is the restoration of the core values of integrity,
impartiality and dignity that had existed in the civil service."