Civil Servants Employed by Jonathan May Lose Jobs Over Federal Character

Civil Servants Employed by Jonathan May Lose Jobs Over Federal Character

About 4,904 civil servants employed in the last administration led by President Goodluck Jonathan, may lose their jobs as the Federal Character Commission has queried the recruitment exercise.

Punch reports that the moves by the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) to sack the workers had led to a crisis in the civil service.

At least 247 of the 4,904 civil servants already petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) to complain about FCSC’s plan to sack them.

Acting executive chairman of the Federal Character Commission, Dr Shettima Abba, had in May queried the chairman of the FCSC, Mrs Joan Ayo, over the alleged violation of the principle of federal character in the employment of the 4,904 civil servants.

Abba in his letter to the FCSC lamented that the recruitment, which took place between 2013 and 2015, was characterised by a flagrant abuse of the Federal Character principle.

He alleged that the recruitment was tilted in favour of the South-South geopolitical zone, pointing out that the South-South got 33.6 per cent of those employed as against the 26.2 per cent allotted to applicants from for the North-East, North-West and North-Central geopolitical zones.

He therefore directed the civil service commission’s boss to ensure that the perceived inequality was addressed.

The FCSC subsequently declared the jobs of 247 workers irregular, null and void which necessitated the intervention of the ICPC which interrogated the FCSC chairman.

More agitated workers have now written to the ICPC, alleging that the plan to sack them was based on ethnic consideration and a plot to cover up fraud and irregularities in previous employments undertaken by the commission.

Spokesperson for the FCSC, Dr Abel Oruche has however told newsmen that only those irregularly employed would be dismissed. He also denied knowledge of the FCSC chairman being interrogated by the ICPC.

Oruche further explained that some people were employed without vacancies and that the staff audit was aimed at fishing out such people.