Not long ago, the Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti admonished political appointees against undue interference with the functions of career civil/public servants in the state civil service. The caution may have been informed by a number of complaints of not observing due diligence in the bureaucratic process by top government functionaries in their dealings with civil servants, particularly, Permanent Secretaries and Directors.
In as much as the advise is pleasant, it is also worrisome. It is welcome because heeding the reprimand will strengthen relationships and synergy between and amongst government appointees and career civil servants. Be that as it may, a smooth and seamless operation in the system will give impetus to the institutional reforms by the administration of Governor Alex Otti targeted at efficiency, effectiveness and increased productivity in the civil service.
The chiding is equally disturbing for it presupposes that the appointed officers have not really imbibed and internalized the lectures taught them at the retreats which Governor Alex Otti since he assumed office, elevated to a yearly affair. It is common knowledge that the assemblage of erudite scholars, captains of industry, renowned and seasoned technocrats, school participants at the brainstorming sessions on the policy direction of the government. The appointees are as well told in unmistakable terms that their brief is strictly limited to policy matters. And that Permanent Secretaries as Accounting Officers of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), are saddled with the day to day management including staff matters in their domains.
Sadly, officers at the vertex of government, it would seem, do not adhere to the duty schedule assigned to them.
This is because occasionally, overbearing officers of government brazenly impede and encroach on the functions of the Permanent Secretaries and Directors. And where the Permanent Secretary or director is naive, timid and cannot stand their ground and in a subtle manner tell the domineering Principal that he is breaching the rules, he will have his way.
Consider a situation in the recent past where a State Director of Information (SDOI) politely declined the redeployment of two Directors of Information, one at the Government House and the other, at the Ministry of Housing after persistent pressure by the Honorable Commissioner. For standing his ground, the Hon. Commissioner hated his guts and person till he was reassigned to another Ministry.
Again, an Honorable Commissioner in the Ministry of Trade and Investment bypassed the Permanent Secretary and directed the Director of Administration to deploy and redeploy staff to the cattle market at Lokpanta. The Permanent Secretary, a brave woman, cancelled the postings. A war attrition erupted between the Commissioner and Permanent Secretary until the issue was amicably resolved at the State Executive Council Meeting by a former Governor.
In the present dispensation, there are reported cases of infractions by Honourable Commissioners and other principal officers of government especially with regards also to staff deployment and redeployment. But the truth remains that posting of staff is the exclusive preserve of the Permanent Secretary and the Directors and not that of Commissioners. In some MDAs, Hon. Commissioners and other Principal Officers usurp the functions of Public Relations Officers (PROs)/Information Officers, supplanting them with their personal Media Aides, thus rendering them redundant.This too ought not be so in the New Abia.
So, Governor Alex Otti deserves commendation on his advise to political appointees not to interfer with the functions of career civil servants.
On this note and in the spirit of the New Abia, the admonition of Governor Alex Otti on non-interference for a seamless functioning of the system should seriously be abided by.
