The recent House of Representatives move through its Committee on Public Service Matters is apt to tackle key challenges in the Nigerian Public and Civil Service on issues regarding age falsification,career stagnation, which leads to retirement of experience, highly skilled and productive workforce that were caught in the web due to the activities of age falsifiers and public officials that seeks for extension unduly after serving the mandatory 35 years or clogging 60 years of age as provided for in the Public Service Rules( PSR).
The Public Hearing should extend their findings and work to Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government with history of the Chief Executives or Heads seeking for extension without taking recourse to the career progression of their subordinates,institutional efficiency and Public Service Accountability. A key issue that needs to be reviewed is the arbitrary extension of stay in office by career public servants after serving 35 years or clogging 60 years of age and insistence to remain in office by way of seeking extension,while the policy may have been well-intentioned,it sparks serious concerns especially in uniform services, where seniority,age at entry or enlistment,age at retirement is necessary to justify continuous service or disengagement as the case may be. This singular act of seeking for extension and age falsification undermines morale,stifles innovation and weakens the overall effectiveness of our public Institutions. This move by the House of Representatives under the Rt. Honourable Speaker, House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, is well applauded. It is pertinent for the House Committee on Public Matters to carry out thorough investigation and recommend structural reforms to restore merit and efficiency in the promotion system and process with standard for assessing eligible public officials due for promotion from one level to another void of abuse and manipulations.
It is therefore my patriotic view,that the committee view age falsification as a serious criminal act and punishable,and the extension of service as a disservice to deserving senior officers on line of promotion,denying them legitimate rise and advancement to their peak in a chosen career,as this is a long standing issue that undermines integrity,succession planning and Institutional Trust.
›* James Sunday, Is the Chief Executive Officer, Hallvive Media and Communications Limited Abuja.
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