Senate probes alleged lopsided recruitment into civil service

The Senate has ordered an investigation into the alleged lopsidedness and emerging infractions in the recruitment and deployment of officers by the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) and other related agencies.

During Tuesday’s plenary, the Red Chamber mandated its Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters to carry out a holistic investigation into the allegations of lopsided recruitment and deployment.

The resolution of the Senate followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Senator Titus Zam (APC – Benue North-West) during plenary.

Leading debate on the motion, Senator Zam stressed the need to ensure the federal character principle in the FCSC, noting that the commission was established to recruit and deploy officers with requisite qualifications into the Federal Civil Service.

The lawmaker said he is disturbed that “counterproductive malady to favour certain groups and inconsistent with the commission’s vision, seems to have recently crept into the commission as allegations of illegal recruitment or employment into the service are being reported.”

Senator Zam lamented that “this debilitating syndrome has so permeated the ministries, departments and agencies that virtually no ministry seems to be insulted by this ugly trend.”

He quoted the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan, who told journalists ahead of 2023 Civil Service Week in July that the federal government had discovered 1,618 civil servants with fake employment letters.

Wondering why the introduction of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, IPPIS meant to curtail and, ultimately, eliminate illegalities in the civil service seems to be jeopardizing the objective.

He noted that some government workers were capitalizing on insider abuse to undermine the system’s efficiency and to carry out ‘salary paddings’, and ghost names in the payrolls, among others.

He, however, warned that if urgent action is not taken to ensure federal character principle and curb lopsidedness, they would weaken the cohesion in the civil service with attendant damage to governance and service delivery.