They want President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse the suspension which they have described as anti-people, retrogressive, and capable of further stagnating their promotions.
The reversal, they say, will engender peace, good governance, transparency and accountability in the service and polity.
Some months ago, news about the tenure policy in the Federal Civil Service came as a rude shock to federal workers, who had the hope of reaching the peak of their career which is the rank of a permanent secretary.
It started with a circular to Ministries, Departments and Agencies signed by the Head of the Civil Service (HOS) of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita which read in part: ‘’The Federal Government has suspended the tenure policy in the Federal Civil Service with immediate effect.”
The eight-year tenure policy was introduced by former HOS of the Federation, Mr. Steve Oronsaye, and approved by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to arrest the agitation of aggrieved deputy-directors who had gone to court to argue against the promotion of officers who came from outside government to join the service midway but were getting promoted to the directorate levels ahead of them.
According to findings, the new tenure policy states that as a director, once an officer spends eight years on the cadre, he or she should expect to be retired without consideration as to whether he or she has attained the mandatory 60 years of age or has put in 35 years in service.
The policy which The Guardian learnt, shocked workers, was responsible for the mass retirement of several directors and permanent secretaries from the service between 2007 and 2009 which later gave room for the promotion of several others.
Speaking with The Guardian, an assistant director described the policy as retrogressive.
His words: ‘’It is expedient to bridge the gap between those that came into the service from outside and those of us who joined after our National Youth Service.
“So you can see that it is only those who come from outside that will now stay up to eight years as directors. But we say the eight-year tenure policy was the best that ever happened to the civil service and should be retained.
“The reversal by President Buhari shows that the politicians are at it again, because this development will favour them and their cronies. The policy is anti-people; a lot of career civil servants may not get their promotions as and when due any longer, especially, the core civil servants as the suspension will raise the ‘no vacancy’ issue again.”
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