News
“We support tenure system in public servic,” says Labour
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has thrown its weight behind the recent restoration of tenure-ship on director position in the public service rule in Nigeria.
National President of the Association of ASCSN, Comrade Tommy Etim Okon told journalists over the weekend that the reversal of the policy will allow career progression of other cadres of civil servants in the country.
Okon said the reversal of the tenure-ship was approved by the former President Buhari administration in response to protest letters by labour unions, contrary to information in some quarters that it was a creation of the Head of Service (HoS)
The labour leader explained that the tenureship rule was aborted earlier in the administration of the immediate past president by the those whom he said wanted to sit tight in juicy positions.
He, however, said the resilience and protest from the ASCSN and other unions, led to the restoration of tenureship rule.
According to him, one of the merits of the tenureship of the position of Director as stated in the public service rule of the federation abinitio, is that it served as a tool to create vacancies, promotion, and progress in the career of public and civil servants in the country.
According to him, “Recently, the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. Folashade Esan released the revised public service rule and on the issue of the tenure restoration system which makes a director to have four years first tenure, and then second year, a maximum of eight years all together.
“I am talking about directors in public service. This is in line with the newly revised public service. A circular was recently issued for compliance, and it generated a lot of heat and false information which has to be corrected. The fact remains that it was not the Head of Service that sat and came up with the idea.
“When tenure was abolished by the then administration of Muhmmadu Buhari, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria wrote and make the case for restoration of that tenure system, which Mr. president graciously approved before he left office.
“It became obvious that it was to be embedded in the public service rules. So the coming out of that rule was not a creation of the Head of Service at all. That fact needs to be established for everyone who cares to know because I have seen a lot of castigation against the Head of Service of the Federation because of the reversal of the rule.
“It was the request of the union (ASCSN) that the tenure system which was aborted by former President Buhari be restored, and the reason was to give opportunities for growth and promotion because some people will spend almost 15 years in a post as a director. Some spend 20 years as a director, some will not even want to leave the directorate to go to permanent secretary. So that was why we stood against the abolition of the tenure system. Now the tenure system has been revised in the public service, and the circular for it is out, and it needs to be implemented.
“Let’s not also not forget that there are also exclusion because there are those who are educational officers that their tenure were extended by the same former President Buhari administration to cover 55 years of age and 40 years in service.
“A lot of people have remained as a director for over 8, 10 years. Some have even extended over 15 years so they think it should business as usual. But it shouldn’t be so because the rule covers the civil service. So if the same rule brought you into the civil service, you should abide by the rule and that is what we are saying.
“So tenure restoration is in the interest of the entire working people. The reason is simple. As they move, they create vacancies so that there won’t be any stagnation in the service. Of course, when you get to the top, it’s going to be pyramid. It cannot be an inverted pyramid. It therefore mean that the top has to be thinner. Everybody cannot be permanent Secretary. But definitely it is expected that when you rise in your career as a director, you have gotten to the too and have that fulfillment in your career. So where we now have stagnation from assistant director, deputy director is because of the over bloatedness in the directorate cadre.
“That was why we the union clamoured that the tenure system that was aborted by the former president Buhari administration should be reversed and that was what the Buhari’s administration did before their final exit
“So we are saying that everybody should abide by the provisions in the revised public service rule. And we support the circular that was issued for compliance.”
River State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, on Tuesday, inspected the ongoing construction work at the Creek Road Market, Port Harcourt, declaring that the project will be completed by January 2027.
The new market, which is divided into three sections is designed to provide a decent and more conducive environment for traders who had for many years extended their buying and selling activities to the road due to congestion in the old market.
The governor was conducted round the project site by Architect Opiribo West, the site engineer for E.S.T Masters Construction, the firm handling the project, alongside Hon. Tonye Belgam, the State Commissioner for Special Projects.
Addressing newsmen at the end of the inspection tour, Governor Fubara explained that the reconstruction of the market was borne out of the need to provide adequate space for the traders and clear the surrounding roads of the spillover from the market.
He noted that the ongoing rehabilitation of the network of roads in the old Port Harcourt Township had been significantly hampered by the lack of a modern market, stressing that the new market will be a promise kept and part of the high-quality infrastructure and urban renewal programme of his administration.
“You are aware that we did promise our people that all the roads in town will be fixed. But we had a very serious issue because of the Creek Road section of the township roads . Because of not having adequate space to accommodate the traders in the market, they extended their activities into the road and that became a serious issue for our construction work.
“So we decided that for us to deliver a better project that would impress our people, we must, as a matter of fact, embark on building a better and more comfortable market for our people,” he said.
In a statement signed by Onwuka Nzechi, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Sir Fubara explained that while construction work has begun in Section A of the market, Section B is being prepared for immediate commencement of construction while Section C will require a more rigorous engineering approach because of it’s location on a borrow pit.
“As you are aware, we’ve been here once to check the activities of the contractor. Today, I’m here to see for myself the extent of work that is ongoing. And I feel very happy that they are doing a very good job.
“They just informed me that the market is divided into three sections. The section A and the section B and the section C. The A is the one we just saw here that they’ve already started from the ground. This B section is the other side which they will start soon, while the C section is the one that they discovered that it was a borrow pit.
“And you know, you can’t build on top of a borrow pit. So we had to do evacuation and filling. So I believe that once those things are done, the other part of the section of the market will also commence. They even assured me that the timeline I gave to them for January that they are going to deliver the project fully for our people to use,” he said.
Governor Fubara emphasised that the investment in a modern market is an integral part of his administration’s agenda on good governance through the delivery of legacy projects.
By Bonaventure Melah
Although the federal government is currently working on the Onitsha-Enugu expressway, one of the major interconnectivity roads in South East, concerns have continued to mount over the presence of over 32 checkpoints along the expressway which, observers say, are constitution serious barrier to smooth movement of persons and goods, thereby defeating the objective of reconstructing the road, in the first place.
Below is the list of the 32 security checkpoints along Onitsha- Enugu expressway:
1. Army Gate Onitsha
2. Nkwelle Junction
3. Awkuzu Junction Army
4. Awkuzu Junction FRSC
5. Dunukofia LG hqts Police
6. Enugwu-Ukwu Junction Police
7. Amawbia Junction Police
8. Unizik Junction Army
9. Mopol base Awka Junction Police
10. Prince and Princess hostel front army
11. Amansea boundary Police
12. Ugwuoba boundary Police
13. Ugwuoba bridge police team
14. Ugwuoba Junction Army
15. Ugwuoba Junction NDLEA
16. Ugwuoba Junction FRSC
17. Ugwuoba Central Army
18. Oji River Junction Army 1
19. Oji River Junction Army 2
20. Ezeagu express Army
21. Near Nkwo ezeagu Police
22. Near tiles factory Police
23. Umumba Ndiuno express Police 1
24. Umumba Ndiuno express Police 2
25. 9th Mile Checkpoint
26. Nude express (approach to ninth mile) Police
27. Ngwo express Army
28. Ngwo express anti terror squad
29. Onyeama Hill (near refuse dump) Army
30 Onyeama Hill (near coal mine) Army
31. Abakpa Interchange Police
32. Abakpa Junction FRSC.
Note: A traveller moving just 105 KM from Onitsha to Enugu will endure will have to endure this nightmare. A journey that should ordinarily take about 40 mins therefore ends within 3 hours.
Approximately, it stands at a ratio of one checkpoint after every 3.7 km. This is in addition to heavy extortion motorists face from the security operatives stationed at the checkpoints.
Source: Dr Amaka Oforbuike.
42 people have been killed in fighting between ethnic groups in the east of Chad, a government official said Sunday.
Government delegate said the clashes Saturday in the sub-prefecture of Guereda in Wadi Fira province began as a dispute over a water well.
Several ministers, senior local officials, and the military’s chief of staff were dispatched to the scene on Sunday.
“The situation is under control and remains so,” Limane Mahamat, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, said on the state broadcaster.
For several years, eastern Chad has been plagued by conflicts between farmers and nomadic Arab herders. Tensions have been exacerbated by refugees fleeing fighting in neighbouring Sudan.
Conflicts over farm and grazing land have caused more than a thousand deaths and 2,000 injuries between 2021 and 2024, according to estimates by the NGO International Crisis Group.
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