We’re under intense pressure from lawmakers, politicians for inter-service transfer of friends, relatives – Kwara Civil Service Commission

By Mumini AbdulKareem
The Chairman, State Civil Service Commission, Mrs Abibat Anike Yusuf has said that she has been under intense pressure from some lawmakers and politicians in the state to okay the inter-service transfer of their friends and relatives.
The commission chairman disclosed this on Wednesday during the visit of members of the state House of Assembly Service Commission led by its Chairman, AbdulRasheed Oluwafemi Yusuf.
According to her, since her appointment, lawmakers and politician have mounted serious pressure on her office over the issue adding that she had to spend several minutes convincing some of them on phone that things have change in line with the government’s mandate to her commission.
She said some changes had been introduced to reinvigorate the service adding that the reform is being carried out in such a way to stop indiscriminate crossover and redeployment happening among various commissions adding that practice was demoralising the service and has hampered the rise of civil servants in different lanes of the service to the get to the peak of their careers.
She said the commission has been given a mandate to reorient the civil service and return  it to its glory of vibrancy and effectiveness.
“As at 6 o’clock yesterday (Tuesday) a member of the House of Assembly was the one that was even pressuring me that he has a female candidate in a local government who was about to be retired but he doesn’t want her to be retired there and want her to cross over that he doesn’t want her to retire there. They are all looking for Permanent Secretaries. I have to use about 30 minutes to explain to him that this can’t be done. It was because of the joint account arrangement that such was possible but no longer so now that the arrangement.
“When I came in, we have about 600 requests for inter-service movement but we didn’t do or touch any of them because I have been briefed and that is why I said it’s not going to business as usual and everybody should maintain its lane, start it and end it there. We have been telling them but the politicians are manoeuvring and pressuring (us). In the service now, there are some ministries that suppose to have five or six people but they have fifteen and they are not doing anything.
“At the proposed forum, we will educate them more and that we concluded that we will reissue the circular that no inter-service transfer should be processed after our promotion exercise.
“We are making some changes in the service…This administration is an inclusive one but we want it to be vibrant. We have made it clear from the beginning that it is not going to be business as usual.
“That is why the Governor has given us a mandate to reorient the civil service and bring it back to what it used to be. The state civil service is meant for the civil servants in the core of the state service.
“We have reformed the service in such a way that we have put a stop to the indiscriminate crossover and redeployment. That thing was demoralizing the service.
“The Governor said we should bring the service back to what it used to be. We have a Governor that is focused and the focus is for the good of Kwarans. May I inform you that we have gotten approval for the promotion of civil servants in the mainstream of the service from Level 7 to 15 and 16 to 17”, Yusuf added.
Earlier in his remarks, the chairman, Kwara State House of Assembly Service Commission, Oluwafemi Yusuf, said the visit of his team was meant to have progress in the state.
He stated that all hands must be on deck to complement the effort of the state Governor, who he added, has been performing well.
He said, “The visit is for the purpose of having progress in Kwara. I want to advocate synergy among political office holders to have one mind and one direction for the Governor to have rest of mind.
“The Governor, in his magnanimity, has decided to entrust us with positions of authority. All hands must therefore be on deck to complement the effort of Governor”.
Other commissions visited by Yusuf were the Local Government Service and the Teaching Service where the leaderships all lauded the initiative of the Assembly Commission chairman and his efforts to assist the governor to improve governance in the state.