FIRS board had on March 2020, approved the retirement of
all directors, who had served at least eight years with the
organisation. It also approved the appointment of four Coordinating Directors and two Group Leads in an acting capacity.
A Memorandum from the Office of Executive Chairman of FIRS, to this
effect, which was issued on March 24, 2020, titled SUBJECT:
NOTIFICATION addressed to all the staff of the organization and signed
by the Executive Chairman, Muhammad M. Nami, reads:
“This is to formerly notify you that the Board of Federal Inland
Revenue Service at its Emergency Meeting No.2 held on 20th of March 2020, approved the retirement of all directors who have served eight years and above as directors in the Service in line with Para 10.1(a)(iii) of HRPP.
We wish them well in their future endeavours.
The Board also gave its approval for the appointment of four (4) Coordinating Directors in Acting capacity and two Group Leads for six
(6) months once…”
Also, a statement by Director of Communications and Liaison Department of the organisation, Abdullahi Ahmad, to the media, said “The FIRS Board took this decision at its emergency meeting No. 2. held on Friday, March 20, 2020, during which it also approved the retirement of all directors who have served for eight
years and above as directors in the Service, in line with Para
10.1(a)(iii) of Human Resources Policy and Programmes of the FIRS
statute.”
It could be recalled that the limitation of tenure of directors and
permanent secretaries in the federal civil service to two-terms of
four years was meant to create vacancies at the highest level of
civil service had been introduced by the President Olusegun Obasenjo
administration in 2004.
Essentially, the policy was aimed at ensuring that most civil servants
that are qualified are able to attain directorship as well as
permanent secretary status in the civil service.
As part of the effort to reform the civil service, Obasanjo’s
administration had created the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR)
on February 4, 2004 to advise the regime on how to go about the reform process.
The Bureau, it was learnt, was saddled with the mandate of stopping the policy in the civil service, which allowed young workers who enjoyed rapid promotion to the rank of directors or permanent
secretaries from over-staying that resulted in the career stagnation of older civil servants.
The reforms spearheaded by the BSPR introduced policies of four years of two terms for directors as well as permanent secretaries even if such directors and permanent secretaries were less than 60 years and had served below 35 years in the civil service at the end of their terms.
It was argued that there were civil servants that had been directors or permanent secretaries for more than 13 years. This, it was argued was clogging the system as those that were due for promotion to the post of directors were not promoted due lack of vacancies at the top echelon of the service.
But, according to the aggrieved ex-directors, in 2016, President
Muhammad Buhari, authorised the ‘suspension’ of the tenure limitation without advancing any reason behind the move, and wondered why the FIRS board did not consider this before retiring them.
They quoted a circular which was contained in a Federal
Establishment circulars 2011-2016, HSCF/428/S.1/139, dated June 20,
2016, titled SUSPENSION OF TENURE POLICY IN THE FEDERAL SERVICE,
signed by, the then Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita as the extant rule guiding the tenure of the federal civil.
The circular reads: “With reference to letter No. SH/COS/100/A/1462 dated 17th June, 2016, I write to convey Mr. President’s directive
that Tenure Policy in the Federal Civil Service is suspended with immediate effect.
2. This is for the attention of concerned for compliance.”
According to the aggrieved FIRS former directors, there has not been any counter directive either from the Presidency or HSCF.
Consequently, they are alleging that the action of management of the organisation was vindictive and at variance with all known laws as well as against their fundamental rights.