Jeffrey Adaralegbe

Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, announced that nine Permanent Secretaries would be named to lead the Mandate Secretariats of the FCT Administration following the establishment of the FCT Civil Service Com

mission.

D

uring his first meeting with the directors of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) and the FCT Administration (FCTA) on Monday, March 4, 2024, in Abuja, Barrister Wike disclosed this.

According to the FCT Minister, as is customary in the Federation’s states, an appointment of a Head of Service, Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, and Commission Members will oversee the hiring, training, and disciplining of FCT Civil Servants.

Th

e Minister called the formation of the FCT Civil Service Commission a brave move, emphasizing that strong will and a commitment to doing the right thing are necessary for the implementation of certain laws or policies.

 L-R: Acting Permanent Secretary, FCTA, Mr Samuel Atang,  FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, and FCT Minister of State, Dr Mariya Mahmoud during the Minister’s meeting with Directors of the FCTA on Monday, 3rd March 2024

The Minister states that “the President took that step to implement the 2018 law regarding establishing the Civil Service of the FCT because it is part of his Renewed Hope Agenda to do things right.”

With any luck, we will have a Head of Service. The heads of the various Secretariats will be Permanent Secretaries, just as is possible in the states.

The Minister revealed that despite obstacles encountered during the policy’s implementation due to opposition, the President remained steadfast in his insistence that the FCT Civil Service Commission be established.

As

a result, the Minister declared, “We will be submitting names to Mr. President for approval very soon of those who will be the first set of Permanent Secretaries that will head the various Secretariats and then, of course, the Head of Service, and then the Chairman and members of the Civil Service Commission, who will now be responsible for the employment, training, and discipline of the FCT Civil Servants.”

In addition, the Minister stated that he would guarantee geographic distribution in accordance with the Federal Character Principle and that he would present the President with the names of the Permanent Secretaries upon his return from Qatar.

“I shall present the nine individuals when the President returns today,” he declared. All six geopolitical zones need to see it distributed. Thus, the six zones need to have one each if the number is nine, at minimum. It now stands at six. Then, since I will not support a situation in which one zone has three while another does not, we can play with three. That is not what we are going to do. Thus, may you be fortunate enough to be among the first Permanent Secretaries. You will be accomplishing a true feat.

The Minister issued a warning, stating that he would not tolerate any acts of sabotage, after observing that certain Directors in the FCT Administration were attempting to thwart the government’s efforts.

The Minister urged the Directors to offer their complete support in order to fulfill the President’s mandate, stating that the current FCT Administration has gone above and beyond for them.

The Minister expressed concern, saying, “I worry that some of us are sabotaging the Administration’s efforts and Mr. President cannot be doing this.” When someone says, “This has been difficult; any obstacle, I am going to remove,” it could be what you have been searching for for years. It takes dedication and hard work to put this into practice, and it also requires you to do everything that is required of you personally in order for the person to succeed.

. “We are making every effort to transform the city’s appearance. You must assist us too. I think it is important to inform you of this so you will not claim you were not warned. We are fully aware of it, and as you know, I will do anything I want, heavens willing.

To promote efficiency and service delivery, the FCT Minister also revealed that he will reorganize the Directorship cadre within the FCT Administration. He declared that he would transfer a number of Directors to reorganize the system and that he would not permit a Director to hold a position in one office indefinitely.

“We need to move more quickly, even though people are praising us for what we are doing. In order to prevent you from claiming that you were unaware, I felt that I should inform you,” the minister stated.

The FCT Administration has been able to carry out a great deal of infrastructure development thanks to the FCT’s withdrawal from the Treasury Single Account, as noted by Attorney Wike. The Administration plans to announce President Bola Tinubu’s accomplishments by May of this year.

The Minister asked for patience when discussing the difficulties facing the populace of the nation, pointing out that the changes that Nigerians long for will take time to materialize.