Niger State chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has kicked against what it termed politicization of the appointment of permanent secretaries in the state civil service.
The workers are specifically worried that it has become almost a habit for successive governments to appoint politicians with little or no knowledge of what civil service is all about as Permanent Secretaries (PS) at the detriment of career civil servants who may have risen through the ranks to reach the peak of their career.
State NLC Chairman, Yahaya Idris Ndako, at a rally of all affiliate unions of the NLC on Monday said, “The appointment of Perm Secs from outside the service has brought about indiscipline, inefficiency and mediocrity which were alien to the civil service in the past”.
He however advised the state government to stop using politicians as perm secs and institute “Productivity Award” in the service to encourage workers to be more dedicated to their duties.
Ndako also alerted the Governor Abubarkar Sani Bello-led administration that “The teaching profession is presently facing serious crisis of brain drain.
“Many teachers have been leaving the sector for other lucrative jobs thereby creating a large vacuum”.
He therefore charged the state government to recruit more qualified teachers in both primary and post-primary levels to address the brain drain syndrome.
He also urged the government to pay the entitlements of all retired workers, stressing, “Lack of payment of pensions and gratuities to retired workers has led to untimely deaths of many, while some others are now living from hand to mouth”.
The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Isah Ladan, who represented Governor Bello announced that the administration had spent over N2.6 billion on the payment of pension and gratuities to retirees since it assumed office in the past two years.
He disclosed that an executive bill on the Contributory Pension Scheme had been sent to the Niger State House of Assembly for passage into law.