By Festus Fifen

On the 18th Day July 2018 another Chapter was opened in the history and lives of Civil Servants in the Nigeria Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA). That was the day Vice President Yemi Osinbajo then Acting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria assented to the Federal Capital Territory Civil Service Commission Bill, making it an act of parliament.

The announcement of that singular assent by the then Vice President who was acting as the President created another sigh of relief and a glimpse of hope for civil servants in the FCT whose careers have either been stunted or hopes of career progression dashed. The existing arrangement prior to that assent meant that no civil servant in the Federal Capital Territory Administration could rise above grade level 17 which is that of a Director in the Federal Civil Service system.

Civil servants in the FCT Administration were removed from enjoying directly from promotions and other sundry benefits from the Federal Civil Service Commission after the implementation of Order 1, of 2004 which changed the then Ministry of Federal Capital Territory (MFCT) to Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA)

The Ministry of Federal Capital Territory (MFCT) was scrapped in 2004 and replaced with a Presidential Order, which established the Eight Mandate Secretariats to be headed by Mandate Secretaries. The establishment of the Secretariats and appointments of the Secretaries to man the Secretariats (equivalent of Commissioners in the 36 States of the federation) are at the instance of the Governor of the FCT which in this case is the President and Commander in Chief who in turn delegates such powers to a Minister who acts on his behalf. What is worse in this whole name changing is that, there has been no agency for the recruitment, discipline and promotion of the FCT Civil Servants, the closest contraption on ground is the Human Resources Department which is headed by a Director. Another shortcoming the change brought going forward was that civil and public servants of the FCT are not listed by the Federal Civil Service Commission. Despite this lacuna, since 2004 the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF) has been posting Permanent Secretary to the FCT even as the Federal Civil Service Commission hasn’t been dealing with the civil servants there as a place where directors or the Head of the human resources department can regularly supply candidates for promotion to the prestigious consolidated salary cadre of Permanent Secretary or even Head of the Civil Service. This has physically and emotionally affected the mind-set and productivity of an average civil servant in the FCTA. Another angle to this sudden halt to career progression is the realisation that FCTA public servants have been sad that they have also lost their “revered” seniority status even to their juniors at the Federal level which operate under the Federal Civil Service Commission, this has resulted in complex administrative confusion, avoidable bickering, despair, loss of faith and confidence in the system.

This development is even more worrisome as their peers in other ministries who are operating under the Federal Civil Service Commission can be promoted to become Permanent Secretary and be posted to the FCTA to now become superiors to those senior to them in the civil service because their condition of service allows them to become Permanent Secretaries.

So one can imagine the joy and excitement the news of the assent to the Federal Capital Territory Civil Service Commission Act 2018 would bring just realising that the “concrete deck” on career progression has just been removed.

However, that joy and excitement later became “waiting for Godot”. For those not in the literary world of word weaving, waiting for Godot is the title of a play by an Irish writer Samuel Beckett about two men, Vladimir(Didi) and Estragon (Gogo) engage in variety of discussions and encounters, waiting for a third man the titular Godot, who never arrives. The play is a typical example of the Theatre of the Absurdity, and people use the phrase ‘waiting for Godot’ to describe a situation where one waits for something to happen, but it probably never will.

The excitement of civil servants in the FCT when the current Minister of the FCT Barr. Ezenwo Nyesome Wike announced the approval by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the implementation of the FCT Civil Service Commission after more than 5 years of “waiting for Godot” by civil servants in the FCT Administration knew no bound as it was perceived and seen as the light at the end of the long dark tunnel.

The approval as communicated by the Minister follows the enactment of the Civil Service (Establishment) Act in 2018, which allows for creating a commission responsible for appointing, promoting, disciplining, and transferring civil servants within the Civil Service of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The Act aims to improve the plight of civil servants, who have been unable to reach their career goals due to a lack of political will to implement the legislation in the past 5 years by the previous administration. This also meant that the Head of Civil service of the Federation can no longer post Permanent Secretaries from the Federal Civil Service to the FCT. Another implication of this development points to the fact each Secretariat in the FCT Administration will now have a Permanent Secretary with one among them rising to the Position of the Head of Civil Service of the FCT as obtainable in the states of the federation. It also means that FCTA members of staff can reach the peak of their career without the avoidable barrier that is currently plaguing the system. The issue of customized trainings based on the peculiarity of the structure available in the FCT is another achievement the commission will introduce as what is obtainable now does not facto in the peculiarities of the FCT not being a full fledge state like others. The system will also be opened up with more Directorates for those stagnated at the Deputy Director and Assistant Director Cadre to also have a career progression since most times promotions are based on availability of space at the top. With these developments, no one will stay in one position longer than necessary as there would always be an opening at the top.

With all these stated, who would not want the implementation of this notable shift in the lives of FCT civil servant?

Since the announcement of the approval for the take-off of the FCT Civil Service Commission by the Wike Led Administration, a lot of unseen forces that fought the initial passage and implementation of the then FCT Civil Service Commission Bill now an act of Parliament have all swung into action devising means to frustrate the full implementation and take-off of this laudable development. Again I ask who is afraid of change?

While it is expected that people sometimes resist change because of the fear of the unknown or what many refer to as ignorance, a critical look at the provisions of FCT Civil Service Commission Act 2018 shows there is nothing to scare anyone who desires change and career progression for civil servants in the FCT especially those civil servants God has blessed with youthfulness and strength that may not grow beyond certain self-made and avoidable limitations the current system is providing.

For example, the explanatory Memorandum of the Act which reads “This Act establishes the Federal Capital Territory Civil Service Commission charged with the responsibility for Appointment, Promotion, Discipline and Transfer of civil servants within the Civil Service of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja” should not scare or be a concern to anyone who means well for this country.

Clearly stated in Part II of the Act are the functions of the commission which are well defined to encourage career growth for civil servants in the FCT. The functions include Appointment of Staff, Staff Discipline, Play Advisory Roles to the honourable minister on how best to ensure staff efficiency and productivity and other ancillary issues which will project fairness equity and transparency in the system

With these recent developments it will not be out of place to urge the FCT Minister Barr. Nyesome Wike to quickly Appoint an Acting Head of Civil Service of the FCT pending the full take off of the Commission since the workers via a subtle protest rejected the posting of a New Permanent Secretary from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation following the retirement of the last Permanent Secretary Olusade Adesola.

This singular action will prevent “waiting for Godot” on the part of the civil servants in the FCT who are hopeful that things have begun to change and also put a stop to speculations and insinuations that the commission as announce by the minister will not materialize.

All civil servants in the country and FCT in particular should throw their weight and do everything legally and morally permissible to have this commission running as soon as possible.