Re: Al- Makura and Nasarawa permanent secretaries
The central theme of the well written piece is that the actions of the incumbent were informed more by political considerations and not the long- term interest of the state, and that the removal of so many permanent secretaries at once would weaken rather than strengthen the state civil service. One ventures to say that […]
The central theme of the well written piece is that the actions of the incumbent were informed more by political considerations and not the long- term interest of the state, and that the removal of so many permanent secretaries at once would weaken rather than strengthen the state civil service. One ventures to say that in a political dispensation, the word permanent for any category of public servant is a misnomer bearing in mind that we are in a democratic milieu where governments come and go as long as elections are held.
One hopes that Modibbo is aware of the recent reforms in the civil service, and the reasons for them. Under the present civil service rule on tenure, certain categories of civil servants, notably the higher civil service from the rank of director upwards, cannot be in office for more than two terms of four years each. The reason for this laudable reform is the need to prevent a situation where under the guise of permanency, some well-connected public officials monopolise positions to the exclusion of others and thereby hold the government hostage.
Governor Al- Makura, following the above, did nothing wrong as he owes the people of the state a government that would function efficiently and effectively to achieve his campaign promises and ensure the improvement of life and general progress of the state and not the romanticism of Nasarawa civil service that is full of permanent secretaries not in tune with the vision of a new government in place in Lafia. The Nasarawa governor is not the only state chief executive who has tinkered with the civil service inherited from his predecessor. This action is a routine one and occurs whenever a new government comes in even in the case where the incumbent and his predecessor are from the same political party.
It would appear that Modibbo was not aware or feigned ignorance of the fact that Al- Makura’s predecessor, former Governor Aliyu Akwe Doma, not only appointed permanent secretaries for political patronage, but burdened the civil service of Nasarawa State with a large number of these top civil servants, whose responsibilities were not clear and whose total emoluments constituted a huge burden on the finances of the state government. It is rather strange that Modibbo, who claims to be a seasoned and concerned civil servant, would not raise questions if a new governor like Makura who has a clear mandate to improve the state after the unimpressive performance of his predecessor, should retain these category of public servants whose loyalty cannot be taken for granted.
One thinks that Modibbo is being dishonest if he denies knowledge of the high degree of partisanship displayed by most top civil servants and government functionaries in Nasarawa State during the Doma years including during the electioneering period leading to the 2011 polls. Most government officials including the permanent secretaries whose cause Modibbo is championing, did not give Al- Makura a chance, and actually worked against his political effort to contest the governorship of Nasarawa State. Before his eventual victory made possible by his doggedness, single- minded determination, the will of God and the resolve of the oppressed people of the state, the power elite in the state, following the dictates of the former governor, behaved as if it was a sin for Al-Makura and anyone for that matter to challenge the former governor and the PDP for the leadership of the State.
It would be political suicide for Al- Makura to entrust the implementation of his programmes to these group of permanent secretaries of whom Modibbo is enamoured. The new appointees are those he can trust to assist him implement his programmes for the good governance of the state and progress of the people. At the same time, if any one of them falls short in meeting set targets, he can call them to order or even relieve them of the position.
One can say that Modibbo is a member of the Doma school that have decided to do all in their power to discredit the less than four months administration of Governor Al –Makura. This class of Nasarawa indigenes refuse to accept that the elections are over and that the Akwe Doma era is over for good.
It is uncharitable and beneath the position of a committed former permanent secretary of our long- suffering state to say that the removal of his colleagues appointed by and loyal to Governor Al- Makura’s predecessor is an act of impunity and the defining highlight of the latter’s 100 days in office. It is a clear indication that Mr Rufai Modibbo is not in tune with developments in his home state or that he has so much ill will towards the new government in Lafia that he is prepared to deny it the acknowledgement of its successes in several aspects of life in the state, and the foundation that is being laid for the Nasarawa of the future.
This writer hereby submits that it is Nasarawa indigenes like Rufai Modibbo who are fixated with the era of former governor Aliyu Akwe Doma who are behind the hostile disposition of the PDP- dominated state House of Assembly, the plot to use the labour unions in the state to cripple the administration before it could find its feet and orchestration of non- existent schism between the governor and traditional rulers in the state.
Thankfully, as Rufai Modibbo acknowledged, Governor Al- Makura having cut his teeth in the hard world of business and entrepreneurship has proved equal to the task. He is doggedly managing and marching on with the masses of the state behind him. There is little doubt that when he has put his stamp on the character of the state institutions, he will make a resounding success of governance in the state the way he did in the world of business.
Saidu Mustapha, a Policy Analyst lives in Keffi, Nasarawa State.