Workers protest appointment of ‘outsider’ as PCC secretary

Some leading senior staff at the commission who pleaded anonymity owing to Civil Service Rules which bars them from talking to the media, said the appointment of Nwakpa, whom they described as an “outsider” having been brought recently from the Ministry of Labour would fester industrial discord and rift as it was unacceptable to appoint […]

Some leading senior staff at the commission who pleaded anonymity owing to Civil Service Rules which bars them from talking to the media, said the appointment of Nwakpa, whom they described as an “outsider” having been brought recently from the Ministry of Labour would fester industrial discord and rift as it was unacceptable to appoint him to the office of the Secretary to the Commission, which is the equivalent of the position of Permanent Secretary.
He said the union had been mandated to issue a – 21 day ultimatum to the Chief Commissioner to either rescind his decision or be faced with an embarrassing situation of workers’ unrest.
“The position of Secretary to the Commission is the position of our Permanent Secretary. We have several directors who have been in the commission for over 20, 25 years. They are wonderful ombudsmen. How can you now bring a complete outsider from the Ministry of Labour who was promoted as director just last year to come and head professionals who have been directors for several years? This is wrong and does not promote industrial harmony,” one of the leaders of the union stated.
Last Friday, PCC Head of Public Relations Mr. Emeka Nwosu said the claims were baseless even though he said his boss was already holding talks with the union to resolve the matter.
Nwosu said, “It should be on record that the disquiet, protest and unrest are baseless because the Chief Commissioner has acted within his powers as provided by Section 3 [1] of the Public Complaints Commission Act which empowers him to employ or recruit servants and personnel to help him and his commissioners function well.
“The Chief Commissioner derives his powers from the Act and can appoint whomever he deems fit as Secretary. As we speak, if the Chief Commissioner sees you and likes you, without any hesitation he has the power to appoint you immediately as secretary to the commission.”
Section 3 [1] of the PCC Act reads: “The Chief Commissioner shall appoint such additional officers and servants [not being commissioners] as he may determine to assist him and other commissioners in the discharge of the functions under this Act.”
But a senior officer at the commission said the powers of the Chief Commissioner however large cannot be used in a manner so described by his spokesman.