The retirement of 15 permanent secretaries from the Lagos State public service in one day is raising some dust, with fear sweeping through the top echelon of the state public service.
Questions are now being asked about what must have led to the retirement, with a source saying it is an unusual occurrence in the service.
It was the topic of discussion and debate among junior, middle and management staff in most of the ministries and parastatals of the government as they were seen debating for and against the action on Tuesday.
The state government in a statement by Habib Haruna, the chief press secretary to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, made available to the media late Monday evening, announced the retirement of the 15 permanent secretaries, some of whom still had some years to go in their career as civil servants. The governor on the same day approved the appointment of 19 new permanent secretaries to replace them in order not to allow a vacuum.
Although, no official reason was given for the action, BusinessDay however gathered that the retirement typifies Ambode’s resolve to run an uncompromised public service that goes by the rules.
It was learnt that the appointment of some of the affected permanent secretaries compromised the civil service rules while some, based on the number of years put in the service, never qualified to have been appointed into the office of a permanent secretary.
According to a source at Alausa, Lagos, “some were clear cases of favouritism rather than merit.
“Ambode has a deep insight about the working of public service and the rules that apply, having worked all his life within the system and rose through the ranks to become an accountant-general before voluntary retirement. He knows when and where the system is compromised and the rules bent. He meant well for Lagos and truly wants to move this state forward.
“It is no surprise seeing him insisting the right thing be done, like the decision to re-align some of the agencies and departments with their parent ministries and the directive to agencies occupying rented apartments to move into government buildings.
“These major decisions taken so far show that he is determined to reposition Lagos for effective service delivery once the commissioners are appointed.”
