NEWS
Why we disengaged nine Permanent Secretaries – Ondo Govt
Ondo State
Government has stated that the decision to retire nine Permanent Secretaries
from the state’s civil service was borne out of measures to pave way for young
officers to rise to the peak of their careers.
According to a
statement by the state’s Commissioner for Information, Yemi Olowolabi, some of
the nine Permanent Secretaries that were retired had spent 13 years in office,
while the least among them is nine years.
Earlier in the
week, the senior civil servants had cried out over what they described as their
sack from the civil service, with allegations that the move was an attempt to
pave way for the anointed kinsman of the governor to become the next Head of
Service of the state.
According to them,
the action of the state governor, Olawarotimi Akeredolu is unlawful as they are
yet to attain the mandatory 35 years in service or the 60-year-old retirement
age.
In the statement,
Olowolabi stated that the retirement
of the Permanent Secretaries from the civil service had no political
undertone.
“The government
simply took the decision to allow younger officers move to the rank of the
Permanent Secretary, to pave way for younger officers to be appointed as PS in
Ondo State.
“Most of those who
are retiring now have been in that position for at least nine years, while some
have been there for 13 years, 12 years, 10 years. So, that is the reason, it
has nothing to do with governor paving way for anybody.
“Don’t forget that
by the time the governor came on board, many people thought that the Head of
Service who is retiring now was going to be removed. But the governor ensured
that he completes his tenure, just like many other Permanent Secretaries who
had been appointed before the governor came in.”
On the claim that
the affected Permanent Secretaries have not reached their mandatory retirement
age of 60 years or the 35 years in service, the commissioner explained that,
“The governor can appoint Permanent Secretaries and the governor can also ask
them to go on retirement.”
He added that their
retirement was in line with extant circular in the civil service that any
permanent secretary who has served for more than eight years could be retired
whether reaching retirement age or not.
Meanwhile the
affected Permanent Secretaries are: Dr Deji Akinwalere, Local Government and
Chieftaincy Affairs; Mr. C. O. Kolawole, General Administration; Mrs T. O.
Kolawole, Culture and Tourism; Gray Eshofonie, Agric Input Supply Agency and
Mrs C. I. Oyebade, Commerce and Industry.
Other are Mr
Francis Olu Adaramola, Local Governments Auditor General; Mr Sunday Adegoke,
State Auditor General; Mr Ade Akinbosade, Local Government Service Commission
and Mrs Odunayo Ketiku, Local Government Staff Loans Board
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