RE: OSUN CONCERNED ELITES' BROUHAHA OVER EXTENSION OF SERVICE IN THE CIVIL SERVICE OF OSUN

It is usually sadden when you see group of people supporting bad habit or action, all because of what they are eating or benefitting from the illegal act. This is what is happening to the unknown set of people who called themselves Concerned Citizens in the Civil Service of Osun State. 

   It is Crystal clear that what matters to this set of Jegudu-jera group is continuation of illegality, corruption and bad ideas in the civil service. They are adamant from stopping this corruptive practices from festering.

It is important to let this unknown group be aware that on 28th of October, 2019, Comrade Alade Lawal, (Secretary of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council) condemned extension of service year outrightly. He stated clearly that; "extension of tenure of office for civil servants by government affects the morale of workers, whose progression was affected by such action, describing it as anti-civil service rule". Do this Concerned Citizens in the Civil Service of Osun State knows more than the man? 

  Alade, further said that dignity and pride of civil service were being eroded each time someone’s stay in office was extended at the detriment of other workers’ career progression. He said, the rule says once you are 60 years of age or have spent 35 years in service, whichever comes first, you should leave the service. 

Furthermore, Comrade Alade said, there are some directors who were hoping to become Permanent Secretaries and if their careers progressions are to be killed by illegality and irregularity called extension in office; if you are in the shoes of those directors, what are you going to do? It dampens the morale of upcoming officers. Those affected would have been traumatised and maginalised. He concluded that those in power should imagine someone truncating their career progression because of his relationship with the powers that be. It will also affect other workers along the ranks. Above is the position of a labour leader.

The recent plans by Osun State Head of Service (HOS) and Accountant-General(AG) to jettison their processes of retirement, highlights the untoward trend in which officers in the public service who attain their retirement age and number of years in service as stipulated are somehow retained against extant service rules and regulations. The Civil Service Rules state that once an officer reaches the age of 60 or clocks 35 years in service, depending on whichever comes first, that officer is due for retirement. Why is Mr Samuel Olaleye Aina (HOS) and Mr Rasheed Olalere Alabi(AG) decided to become "Akintola-Taku"?.

 For whoever cares to listen, what "We" (OSUN CONCERNED ELITES) stands to gain in this battle to unseat both HOS and AG are:(i) allowing smooth career progression; (ii) creating spaces in the Civil Service for unemployed youths; and (iii) banishing service year extension syndrome. We are resolute on this and we trust our listening Governor Ademola Adeleke will act in the interest of the public.

As a group, we want to remind the self-centered and myopic thinking "Concerned Citizens in the Civil Service of Osun State of effort of President Umaru Musa Yar’adua to reform Civil Service when he directed that Permanent Secretaries and Directors that have spent eight years on the post must retire. This was among one of the recommendations by the Oronsaye report which unfortunately has not been implemented strictly, but we are going to ensure this Governor does not make similar mistakes made by his predecessor. Mr Governor is going to be at the forefront in strictly upholding and enforcing the statutory rules of public service and ensuring compliance by all Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government.

Where the Governor feels he still requires the services of any civil servant, the right thing to do is to effect the retirement of the official according to the rules, and then engage them by some other arrangement if he so wish. 

As a group, we also want to remind Mr Governor that the Civil Service is the nexus of the state’s entire administrative system which generates and implements ideas and policies for national development. For the civil service to function effectively in the manner expected of it, its rules of engagement must be strictly adhered to. Retirement of civil servants as at when due is a matter of law, not convenience. In a situation where, as we have seen, the Governor engages in acts that negate civil service rules, this will engender low morale among the civil servants, discourage merit and ultimately lead to poor service delivery. It must also be pointed out that this trend which leads to stagnation is a recipe for corruption as those within the system, for fear of not getting to certain positions, could attempt to amass wealth illegally.

A Lagos-based lawyer, Barr. Tony Odiadi, believes the practice of Governor granting extension of tenures to civil servant is wrong and against the law. According to him, the extant position is clear, that whoever attains 60 years of age or has put in 35 years of service must retire. 

Several experts also warned about law of diminishing returns; the more you stay in service, the more your productivity declines due to monotony. Again, failure to inject fresh blood with new ideas into service is suicidal. The longer one stay in service, the likelihood of reduction in his productivity. It is sad that many civil servants do not realise that it is not staying long in service that matters but life after retirement.

At this juncture, if Osun HOS and Accountant-General were given extension, it will raise concerns about the sanctity of the civil service rules and regulations and the morale of civil servants which form the bedrock of government service delivery in the state. 

   We, therefore, call on Governor Ademola Adeleke to take steps towards reversing this unhelpful trend. The government must do this in the overriding interest of insulating the public service from acts detrimental and inimical to its primary role as the engine room for policy formulation and execution in the State. His Excellency should start now by asking all those who ought to have retired, to do so immediately and those whose time for retirement are near should commence their retirement process.

Yours in Struggle

Babasola Alaarape