The Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSF), Folasade Yemi-Esan, through the Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN), has begun the issuance of receipts to 92 applicants vying for the post of permanent secretaries of various ministries in Nigeria.
SaharaReporters had reported that all the applicants were compelled to pay N250,000 (per head) for a one-week training programme from October 23 to 28, 2023.
Sources privy to the situation revealed to SaharaReporters that the money, estimated to be N23,000,000, was not remitted to the Treasure Single Account (TSA) amid plans to also manipulate the posting of the permanent secretaries and give “juicy ministries” to the HOCSF’s inner circle.
Giving an update on the issuance, one of the applicants revealed that the training exercise had been postponed till next Monday.
According to the source, it is consequently in the national interest for President Bola Tinubu, who is statutorily vested with the ability to nominate Permanent Secretaries, to take the required steps to do so on merit, without any tainted involvement from the Federation’s Head of Civil Service.
“Former presidents, all the way up to President Muhammadu Buhari, have made direct selections of permanent secretaries based on merit and demonstrated service records,” the source added.
SaharaReporters learnt that the training will be held inside the Bukar Goni Aji Executive Hall.
When SaharaReporters called the person issuing receipts to those who made the N250,000 payment online, Sule Oluko on the phone; after listening to our reporter, he immediately hung up without saying a word.
Also, the Deputy Director of Communications at the Office of the Head of Service, Mohammed Sabo-Ahmed, declined to comment on the issue, saying the office had written a rejoinder, as its response to the previous report.
Meanwhile, in the rejoinder signed by Aminchi T. Adeyemi, the legal adviser for the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, in reaction to the previous report done by SaharaReporters, the lawyer said, “Contrary to your unfounded and unverified publication, training and retraining of Civil Servants is the core mandate of Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN) and the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) and as such, monies for such are paid directly into the aforementioned training institutions’ NUBAN account, linked to the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA).
“Suffice to say that the said training is the fifth in the series since its inception and, most importantly, it is optional. As such, it is the prerogative of the prospective candidate to pay and participate or not. It is aimed at refreshing, as well as sharpening their skills and competencies. There is no penalty for non-participation.
“Furthermore at no point has the HCSF favoured Permanent Secretaries from the Ministry of Health or any other Ministry as all have been treated fairly.”
Credit: Saharareporter
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