Moses Ofodeme
Former directors of the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), who
were recently retired have threatened to go court to seek reversal of their
retirements.
They insist that their retirement did not follow due process.
The former directors said they were unjustly retired as the sections
of Human Resources Policy and Programmes on which their retirements
was based on, has been replaced with another rule put in place in
2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari.
They also alleged that the people that were appointed to replace them
are contract staff allegedly brought in by the Executive Chairman and
not civil servants.
The board of the FIRS had on March 2020, approved the retirement of
all directors, who had served at least eight years with the
organisation. It also approved the appointment of four Coordinating
Directors and two Group Leads in an acting capacity.
A Memorandum from the Office of Executive Chairman of FIRS, to this
effect, which was issued on March 24, 2020, titled SUBJECT:
NOTIFICATION addressed to all the staff of the organization and signed
by the Executive Chairman, Muhammad M. Nami, reads as follows:
“This is to formerly notify you that the Board of Federal Inland
Revenue Service at its Emergency Meeting No.2 held on 20th of March
2020, approved the retirement of all directors who have served eight
years and above as directors in the Service in line with Para
10.1(a)(iii) of HRPP.
We wish them well in their future endeavours.
The Board also gave its approval for the appointment of four (4)
Coordinating Directors in Acting capacity and two Group Leads for six
(6) months once…”
Also, a statement by Director of Communications and Liaison Department
of the organisation, Abdullahi Ahmad, who made the announcement to the
media, said “The FIRS Board took this decision at its emergency
meeting No. 2. held on Friday, March 20, 2020, during which it also
approved the retirement of all directors who have served for eight
years and above as directors in the Service, in line with Para
10.1(a)(iii) of Human Resources Policy and Programmes of the FIRS
statute.”
It could be recalled that the limitation of tenure of directors and
permanent secretaries in the federal civil service to two-terms of
four years was meant to create vacancies at the highest level of
civil service had been introduced by the President Olusegun Obasenjo
administration in 2004.
Essentially, the policy was aimed at ensuring that most civil servants
that are qualified are able to attain directorship as well as
permanent secretary status in the civil service.
As part of the effort to reform the civil service, Obasanjo’s
administration had created the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR)
on February 4, 2004 to advise the regime on how to go about the reform
process.
The Bureau, it was learned, was saddled with the mandate of stopping
the policy in the civil service, which allowed young workers who
enjoyed rapid promotion to the rank of directors or permanent
secretaries from over-staying that resulted in the career stagnation
of older civil servants.
The reforms spearheaded by the BSPR introduced policies of four years
of two terms for directors as well as permanent secretaries even if
such directors and permanent secretaries were less than 60 years and
had served below 35 years in the civil service at the end of their
terms.
It was argued that there were civil servants that had been directors
or permanent secretaries for more than 13 years. This, it was argued
was clogging the system as those that were due for promotion to the
post of directors were not promoted due lack of vacancies at the top
echelon of the service.
But, according to the aggrieved ex-directors, in 2016, President
Muhammad Buhari, authorised the ‘suspension’ of the tenure limitation
without advancing any reason behind the move, and wondered why the
FIRS board did not this into consideration before retiring them.
They quoted a circular which was contained in a Federal
Establishment circulars 2011-2016, HSCF/428/S.1/139, dated June 20,
2016, titled SUSPENSION OF TENUE POLICY IN THE FEDERAL SERVICE,
signed by, the then Head of the Civil Service of the Federation,
Winifred Oyo-Ita as the extant rule guiding the tenure of the federal
civil.
The circular reads: “With reference to letter No. SH/COS/100/A/1462
dated 17th June, 2016, I write to convey Mr. President’s directive
that Tenure Policy in the Federal Civil Service is suspended with
immediate effect.
2. This is for the attention of concerned for compliance.”
According to the aggrieved FIRS former directors, there has not been
any directive either from the Presidency or HSCF upturning the extant
directive from Mr. President, hence they insist there is more to their
retirement than the HRPP cited by the organisation’s board as the
reason for their retirement.