By Cosmas Uzodinma, Chief Press Secretary to FCT Mnistrer.
Over 3000 staff of FCT Administration including former Acting Directors have been elevated to various grades following the 2016 promotion and confirmation exercises held by the Administration. As a result, 46 Acting Directors have been confirmed as substantive Directors and deployed to various secretariats, departments and agencies (SDAs).
The Permanent Secretary, FCT Administration, Mr. Chinyeaka Ohaa gave this breakdown while speaking to newsmen on the far-reaching measures approved by the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, to reposition the Administration for greater productivity. This, he stressed, was in keeping with the Minister’s commitment to strengthening FCTA institutions for effective service delivery and to reinforce incentives for greater productivity.
Mr Ohaa revealed that from January 1, 2018, all eligible officers for appointment into all grades of the directorate cadre would be subjected to written examinations as applicable in the Federal Civil Service. Similarly, appointments, promotion and discipline of all staff under the FCT Administration, including teachers, have been centralized in the FCT Department of Human Resources.
This, he said, is with a view to providing a level playing field for career advancement for all staff of the Administration. The Administration frowned at the experience where officers who enjoyed easy rides to promotion were posted across the service and became seniors over their peers who unfortunately were subjected to stricter promotion procedures.
Another significant reform by the Administration, Mr. Ohaa revealed, is that some Senior Secondary Schools have been delineated as Grade “A” schools, and would now be headed by Principals of the equivalence of Directors, on Grade Level 17. Consequently 10 Secondary Schools have been so graded under the 2017 budget while a further 10 would be upgraded under the 2018 budget following the FCT Minister’s approval.
Also announced was that Directors of Administration and Finance (DAFs) who acted as Secretaries in the interval before the appointment of substantive secretaries have been reshuffled across various stations.
They include: Alice Odey-Achu (Mrs) who moved from Health and Human Services Secretariat (HHSS) to the Transportation Secretariat; Malam Ado Faskari is now DAF for HHSS, while Justina Maimagani (Mrs), formerly of the Education Secretariat, has been moved to Health Management Board as its DAF.
Others affected by the movements include Hajia Safiya Umar formerly of Abuja Metropolitan Management Councils (AMMC), now to serve as DAF for Legal Services Secretariat; Malam Abdelhamid Suleiman who moved from Transport Secretariat to AMMC, and Malam Musa Abdulraheem Anumah, who has been deployed to Area Council Services Secretariat as DAF.
Other changes include Mrs. Eunice Ugochukwu, who now is DAF Education Secretariat, Malam Umar Marafa – Social Development Secretariat and Dr. Lazarus Gaza – former Director, Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, who has gone to Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat.
Malam Baba Lawan, the former Director of Abuja Environment Protection Board (AEPB), who was redeployed to a special assignment, has been recalled to the Board. The Directors of Common Services Departments were also confirmed but retained their locations.
Meanwhile, there is a swirl of heightened anticipation amongst concerned staffers numbering more than 3000, as they await the release of their various promotion letters. This we gather would come in the next couple of weeks, while arrangement for the 2017 promotion exercise has been concluded.
The objectives of the exercises, the Permanent Secretary noted, were to open the space for advancement, provide incentives for higher performance and break the mould of stagnation afflicting staff and teachers over the years.
The Permanent Secretary disclosed that the FCT Minister had expressed dismay at the situation where qualified officers, idirectorate cadre teachers spent over 10 years in one grade with the resultant drop in motivation and frustration.
In a related development, the promotion exercise for staffers of UBEB, SEB, and various agencies under the education secretariat have been concluded and will be forwarded for approval soon.