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I am extremely delighted to welcome you all to the 2018 meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) holding here in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
2. Comrades, as you are all aware, the current Central Working Committee (CWC) came on board a couple of years ago and ever since then, the body has been toiling day and night to build the Association to a level where the platform will continue to grow, develop and on top of it all stand firm to protect the welfare interest of its teeming members. The leadership has been focused with a very clear sense of direction. We know where we are coming from as a Union and we are equally very clear in our mind where we are heading to. The leadership has refused to be distracted and our eyes are always on the ball. We are therefore hopeful that with the current pace of development, the entire globe will sooner than later come to see us for who we are and salute our operational characteristics.
3. As we speak, the love of workers for the Union is very profound and growing by the day as many employees in the Public Service now want to join and be part of the platform. The name, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria is now synonymous with a healing Centre where workers troop in to get injustices against them redressed in addition to having their career and welfare interests defended.
4. Comrades, the superlative performance of the Union could not have been possible if not for the robust and meticulous manner in which we have been running our affairs. As a trade union and a formidable member of the organized labour, we have changed the narrative by moving from mere theoretical approach to doing things to practical way of defining issues that confront us.
5. Moreover, the overwhelming support we receive from our teeming members have been very encouraging. We appreciate these gestures and will never take them for granted. As we forge ahead, I will like to advise against being complacent or getting carried away by our accomplishments. We should steer clear of retrogressive elements and ideas that have the capacity of destroying what we have laboured for over the years. We should continue to build on our strength and current level of attainment in order to continue to excel as well as remain relevant in the scheme of things as far as industrial relations is concerned in the years ahead.
6. NATIONAL ISSUES
(i) STATE OF THE NATION
Comrades, it is vital to note that there was a great hope and expectations at independence which Nigeria attained on the 1st of October 1960 with the entire African Continent looking up to our country for leadership and sense of direction. It is equally worthy of note that the focus on Nigeria by all and sundry was not because of our size but the combination of human and material resources God has endowed us with. Unfortunately, these have not translated into meaningful progress for the country due to a combination of factors including poor leadership, lack of vision and mismanagement of resources. We seem to have lost so many years as we keep on wobbling and fumbling with recent statistics indicating that Nigeria is at the bottom of the table in terms of Human Development index.
It is apt to note that this negative trajectory of the country has led to high level of unemployment, especially among the youth, leading largely to excruciating poverty and deteriorating standard of living. The end results of this ugly scenario are explosion in violent conflicts, militancy, insurgency, armed robbery and kidnapping, all of which have assumed worrisome dimensions in intensity and magnitude.
To address this situation, we make bold to say that economic diversification holds the key to the emergence of a robust economy capable of creating jobs and reducing poverty and unemployment. Government at all levels are therefore advised to articulate and implement an economic blueprint for the diversification of the economy by leveraging sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, hospitality, tourism and ICT to boost productive activities and revenue generation and thereby reduce insecurity.
(ii) NEED TO FAST-TRACK IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEWLY AGREED NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE
Fellow Comrades, It is worthy of note that the single most important issue agitating the mind of an average Nigerian worker today is that of the new National Minimum Wage, the report of which was presented to Mr. President on Tuesday, 6th November, 2018. It is apt to state that against all odds the Tripartite Committee that negotiated the new Minimum Wage was able to scale all hurdles and agreed to the sum of N30,000 as the new Minimum wage for the country.
It is on this premise that I strongly want to appeal to the Federal Government to fast track the process of enacting the new National Minimum Wage into law. Our expectation is that the Government should be able to complete the entire process before the end of this year so that workers who have waited for so long can begin to enjoy a new lease of life provided by the newly agreed minimum wage. The Federal Government is advised to avoid any action that can delay or truncate the process of enacting the new Minimum Wage Act as the consequences of allowing that to happen can be very devastating.
(iii) NEED FOR UPWARD WAGE REVIEW IN THE CIVIL SERVICE
Mr. Chairman, fellow Comrades, as you are no doubt aware, the core civil service, which is the engine room of Government, is regrettably the least paid in the Public Service since other segments thereof have had their emoluments beefed up over the years. Thus, even though civil servants, for instance, possess the same qualifications and experience as their counterparts in these Parastatals and Agencies, yet, the salaries of these other employees are, in most cases, three times more than that of officers in the core Ministries. This situation has been made worse by the fact that since 2010 when Salary Relativity was carried out in the core civil service, no salary increment has been granted to civil servants except for the N900 monthly that was added to the emoluments of senior officers across board after N18,000 was approved as the National Minimum Wage in 2011. To redress this situation, the Union has presented a Memorandum on Demand for Upward Wage Review in the civil service to the Federal Government. Negotiation on the Memorandum should therefore commence in earnest so as to ensure that civil servants are adequately catered for and compensated for the strategic role they play in nation building.
(iv) DELAY IN PAYMENT OF PENSION AND GRATUITY TO RETIREES
Mr. Chairman Sir, it is common knowledge that one of the fundamental reasons for amending the 2004 pension Act was to ensure that retirees get their entitlements on time without much stress. Indeed, Section 1 (c) of the 2014 pension Act stipulates clearly that the objectives of the amendment of the 2004 Pension Act was, among other things: “To ensure that every person who worked in either the Public Service of the Federation, Federal Capital Territory, States and Local Governments, or the Private Sector receives his/her retirement benefits as and when due.” Yet, almost fourteen years after the 2004 Pension Act became operational; the obstacles faced by retirees in respect of not getting their entitlements on time and regular monthly pension are still subsisting. In fact, cases of officers who retired from the Public Service but have not been paid their initial lump sum let alone their monthly pension stipends two years after exiting from service abound. It is indeed worrisome that patriotic citizens who have served their fatherland meritoriously for 35 years or attained the retirement age of 60 years while in service cannot be paid their entitlements to enable them keep body and soul together let alone support their dependants. It must be emphasized that if this trend of subjecting retirees to untold hardship continues, the Union will be compelled to begin to consider other trade union actions to seek redress.
(v) ILLEGAL APPOINTMENT/EXTENSION OF TENURE
OF PERMANENT SECRETARIES
I must now dwell on the vexed issue of illegal recruitment and appointment of officers including Permanent Secretaries into the Civil Service which we have been battling over the years. This ill-advised policy by some State Governments have been compounded by the Federal Government when it recruited persons from outside the civil service as Permanent Secretaries apart from the illegal extension of tenure of certain Permanent Secretaries and officers who are supposed to have retired from service in line with the provisions of the Public Service Rules (PSR) and extant Circulars including the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We raised a memorandum and presented same at Council I meeting held in Abuja last month to demand that one of the Permanent Secretaries illegally recruited by the Federal Government and who is now 62 years old must be compelled to exit the service, but we were prevailed upon to step down the matter because it was already being handled administratively. We, therefore, reiterate our call on the Federal Government to ensure that the Permanent Secretary in question and others who were illegally smuggled into the Service should be encouraged to quietly retire in the interest of industrial peace and harmony in the Public Service. And on no account should people be recruited from outside the Civil Service as Permanent Secretaries because the practice does not only block the chances of Senior Civil Servants from reaching the peak of their career but also demoralizes them.
(vi) DIRECTORS-GENERAL RUNNING PARASTATALS LIKE SLAVE CAMPS
Fellow Comrades, distinguished guests, I wish to repeat the call I made last year to the Federal Government to check the excesses of Directors-General and Executive Secretaries of some Government Agencies and Parastatals who see these organizations as their private estates, subjecting the work-force to inhuman treatment while simultaneously subverting the Public Service Rules, Financial Regulations and other extant Circulars with regard to the Administration of public institutions. It is in an effort to restore due process in some of these organizations that the Association had to wage a prolonged struggle against the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Professor Usman Yusuf, for trying to turn the Scheme into a slave camp, indulging in all manner of financial impropriety including insubordination and contempt for the Minister of Health and members of the Governing Council of the Scheme, proclaiming to those who care to listen that he only reports to Mr. President and to no one else. Although, Professor Yusuf was suspended last year by the Minister of Health following persistent pressure by the Association only for him to be reinstated by the Presidency for inexplicable reasons. On resumption, Professor Yusuf became emboldened in his financial infractions leading to series of further confrontation with the Association. The good news now is that on 31st October, 2018, the Presidency finally suspended Professor Yusuf from office to enable the independent fact-finding panel set up to investigate cases of infractions by Professor Yusuf completes its investigation. It is our hope that this latest suspension clamped on the NHIS Executive Secretary will be used as an opportunity to ease him out of the NHIS in order to bring peace and tranquility to the troubled Agency apart from serving as deterrence to other chief executives of Government Agencies and Parastatals who are toeing the same path of infamy like the embattled NHIS Executive Secretary.
(vii) CORRUPTION IN THE LAND
Fellow Comrades, the vexed issue of corruption still remains one of the major challenges facing us as a nation. This hydra-headed monster continues to loom large in our country in spite of the initial steps taken to address the menace by the present Administration. Corruption in Nigeria has now assumed a very big proportion that can be described as horrendous. The Nigerian political class should know that there is no way this country can be inspired to greatness if this beast is not decapitated and rooted out of our system before it leads to catastrophic consequences. The Federal Government is therefore advised to strengthen and reposition the Anti-graft Agencies such that diligent prosecution of corrupt officials, total recovery of looted funds and end to the pillaging of public treasury can be guaranteed.
(viii) NEED TO ENTRENCH DEMOCRATIC VALUES AND IDEALS
Distinguished Guests, it is saddening to note that after 58 years of political independence, Nigeria is still grappling with the challenges of democratic transformation and good governance. Given the interruption of the 1st Republic by the Military Junta in 1966, all efforts by successive civilian Governments to entrench true democratic culture and values in the country seem to have been a mirage. The generality of Nigerians had expected that the return of democratic rule to the country in 1999 will usher in a new dawn. Unfortunately, these hope and great expectation have been dashed.
Nigerians demand good governance, justice, equity, fairness and real development and progress of the country in order to have confidence and trust in the polity. The political leadership in Nigeria must therefore imbibe the culture of leadership by example. This should be anchored on selfless service to the people with total commitment and sacrifice. Election, which is one of the core pillars of Democracy, should be conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner such that people’s votes should count in their choice of who emerges as their leader. And once election is conducted and concluded, those who win should be magnanimous in victory while those who could not make it should take solace in the fact that there would always be another election.
As we approach the 2019 elections therefore, I wish to strongly advise that the political parties should focus on issue-based campaigns that will turn around the fortunes of the Citizens in particular and the country in general.
7. On this note, I wish you a fruitful NEC meeting.
8. Thank you and God bless you.
—- ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE NATIONAL PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF SENIOR CIVIL SERVANTS OF NIGERIA (ASCSN), COMRADE BOBBOI BALA KAIGAMA, AT THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL (NEC) MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION HELD ON TUESDAY 13TH AND WEDNESDAY 14TH NOVEMBER, 2018 IN ABUJA, THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY
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