About 71 accounting officers and employees of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) have petitioned the Accountant-General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, and the Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Joan Ayo, over the termination of their appointments.
The affected workers, who were recently disengaged by the FCSC, described the decision as unjust and appealed for their reinstatement into the Federal Civil Service.
They alleged that their appointment letters, issued in 2014 after they had undergone interviews, screening and documentation, were withdrawn in 2016 without any cogent explanation.
According to the aggrieved employees, their recruitment followed the laid-down civil service rules and regulations.
They said they were therefore surprised that their appointments were terminated after they had spent nearly two years waiting to be posted to their respective offices across the country.
The workers further alleged that while some of their colleagues with relatives or associates in government were retained and posted, they were asked to leave the service for reasons they claimed were unknown to them.
Describing the treatment as “malicious, insensitive and the height of injustice”, the employees said their careers had been placed at risk by the decision.
According to them, “this petition relates to issues which involve a sizeable number of Nigerians whose careers are being put at stake through malicious actions of the two officers of FCSC and AGF.”
Workers Explain Their Case
In the petition, the employees stated that they had been offered career civil service appointments by the Federal Government through the FCSC as accountants at different levels for the OAGF.
They said the appointments were conveyed through letters issued by the FCSC in 2014 and signed by the Director of Recruitment and Appointment on behalf of the Chairman of the commission.
The petitioners said both the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the OAGF were duly notified of their appointments.
They added that, in compliance with civil service procedures, the necessary documentation and medical examinations were completed by the OAGF in May 2015.
According to the petitioners, they were subsequently listed for posting to their respective places of primary assignment and were issued individual file and staff numbers.
They claimed that from May 2015, they continued reporting to the OAGF in fulfilment of the employment arrangement but were not posted to their places of assignment.
They alleged that the Accountant-General’s office repeatedly asked them to exercise patience, assuring them that an induction programme for the new intake was being prepared.
The workers said they were therefore shocked when they were informed that their appointments had been declared irregular and revoked by the FCSC.
They argued that the appointments had passed through several verification stages, including confirmation by the FCSC and a personnel data revalidation exercise conducted by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
The petitioners also claimed that the FCSC had subsequently re-verified them as Federal Government employees and issued them IPPIS validation receipts in 2015.
They questioned why their appointments would be declared irregular after they had gone through those verification processes.
The employees further alleged that some colleagues who were children or close relations of directors in the OAGF and FCSC had been posted, while their own appointments were revoked.
They therefore appealed for their absorption back into the Federal Civil Service and called for the removal of what they described as irregularities imposed on their appointments.
They also urged the Accountant-General of the Federation to approve and release their postings to their respective places of primary assignment.
Attached to the petition were photocopies of correspondence between the OAGF and FCSC, including documents referenced FCSC/PS/31/1/522/APP/526, FCSC/PS/31/1/522/APP/649 and FCSC/R&A/AV/OAGF/740.
The petitioners said the correspondence showed that their appointment letters had previously been verified and confirmed as genuine and authentic.
FCSC Gives Reason for Termination
However, the Federal Civil Service Commission, Abuja, defended its decision, saying the appointments were irregular and unauthorised.
The commission’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Dr. J. O. Oruche, told The Street Journal that the appointments were terminated because they were not backed by approved and declared vacancies.
According to him, such appointments had no provision in the government’s financial plans.
Oruche said the commission had discovered several irregular appointments that were not supported by approved vacancies.
He explained that appointment letters issued by the commission had a validity period of two months, within which they were expected to be accepted, failing which the offers would lapse.
He added that, in cases where appointments were backed by approved vacancies, some of the offers were not accepted within the stipulated two-month period.
The FCSC spokesman further alleged that some appointment letters were outrightly forged and that some of the alleged fake documents appeared to have been produced under instigation.
He emphasised that the letters in question were temporary appointment letters and explained that there was a lengthy process between the offer of temporary appointment and eventual gazetting or confirmation.
According to him, even regular appointments could be terminated during that process, particularly where the appointments were found to be irregular.
At the OAGF, the Director of Administration, who was responsible for recruitment and related matters, could not be reached for comment as of press time. He was reportedly out of Abuja at the time.
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