Naming of a substantive Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) following the resignation of the immediate past AGF, Jonah Otunla, who left office about a fortnight ago, may have been stalled by an alleged failure to follow extant civil service rules.
The former Director of Funds in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, OAGF, Mohammed Dikwa, was deployed to act as AGF, pending the appointment of a substantive person.
Dikwa is said not to be the most senior Director in the OAGF, since Omoniyi Fagbemi, the Director of Revenue is more senior to Dikwa.
Civil service records indicate that Fagbemi ranks at No 18 in the order of seniority of Directors of Finance and Accounts in the employment of the civil service of the country.
Insider sources in the Federal Civil Service Commission said the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Danladi Kifasi, ignored civil service rules and procedure, including presidential directive that the most senior Director be deployed to act as the AGF, when he deployed Dikwa to the position.
This development, viewed in civil service circles as inimical to seniority, experience and discipline, is naturally brewing disaffection in the civil service.
The handling of the screening procedures for the eventual appointment of a substantive AGF has equally heightened suspicions that again, the rules will be breached in favour of pre-determined persons which clearly negates due process.
In line with the Steve Oronsaye civil service recommendations which has since been adopted and operated, applicants aspiring to various leadership positions in the civil service including those of Permanent Secretary, Accountant General and Auditor General, among others, are required to write qualifying examinations and undergo further screening, in order to promote transparency.
According to sources, 34 directors of finance and accounts across the civil service, sat for the most recent qualifying examination.
Based on performance in the three-stage test, the number should have been whittled down to a more manageable size to enable oral interface, before recommendation for presidential approval.
The template which was put in place and followed religiously under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, was for the best three candidates, following tests and screening for top-level service positions, to be proposed for eventual ratification at the discretion of the president.
This applied to vice-chancellorships, chief medical directorships, rectors and provost of federal government-owned tertiary institutions and health facilities, and by extension other service appointments.
Without regards for this rule, however, four of the 34 candidates who sat for the AGF qualifying examination were randomly selected for post-screening, in circumstances which were anything but transparent.
These include one Idris Mamman, Director, Finance and Accounts in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Dikwa.
While Mamman came ninth in the examination, Dikwa placed a distant 29th and if merit, transparency and due process were followed, both officers will not make the post examination interface.
However, it appears that there is a subtle attempt to narrow the options for eventual presentation for presidential assent, to the North East geo-political zone, where Kifasi comes from.
Whereas Kifasi is from Taraba State, Mamman and Dikwa are both from Borno in the same North East zone.
The apprehension in the service, therefore is that the process of the emergence of the incoming AGF, has been deliberately skewed in favour of Kifasi’s zone.
According to the source, “The argument for skipping Fagbemi for Dikwa in the appointment of an acting AGF, is that he comes from the South-west, like Otunla the out gone AGF.
But there is nothing in the civil service rules that forbids qualified persons from the same geo-political zone from succeeding themselves.
Suspecting that the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (OHOSF) is seeking to circumvent the process, the source wondered why the OHOSF did not shortlist possible candidates strictly on the results of the examination conducted specifically for the appointment of a new AGF.
Many believe the compromise in the selection process may have vitiated the integrity and fairness of the whole process.
According to the source, it will be a major disservice to the fledgling Buhari administration if it allows itself to be railroaded into acts and practices which will question its avowed anti-corruption stance and its commitment to due process.
The source expressed hope that as an experienced and tested administrator, President Buhari will take more than a passing interest in the process leading to the first substantive appointment which will bear his imprimatur.
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