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Industrial Court validates FG Tenure Policy for Directors, Permanent Secretaries
The Court ruled that the assertion of the former Permanent Secretary Alo Nwankwu that the implementation of the tenure policy is discriminatory cannot stand. The Court held that the tenure policy is of general application to all Directors (by whatever name called) and Permanent Secretaries in the Public Service.
Justice Kanyip stated that the argument of Mr. Alo that there has to be a specific lifting of the suspension of the tenure policy was unfounded as nothing was placed before the Court to show that the tenure policy under the Public Service Rules 2021 will apply only when the suspension of the policy initially made was specifically lifted.
From facts, the claimant- Alo Nwankwu had averred that the Head Of Civil Service of the Federation and Attorney General of the Federation lack the requisite powers to reintroduce the tenure policy into the Civil Service of the Federal Government of Nigeria, same having been suspended by virtue of the directive of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as communicated in the circular dated 20th July 2016.
Alo Nwankwu stated that since the Head of Civil Service of the Federation cannot overrule the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it, therefore, becomes elementary that the Head of Civil Service of the Federation directive reintroducing tenure policy via the circular of 27 July 2023 is illegal and unimplementable.
Alo Nwankwu contends that the decision of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and Attorney General of the Federation to reintroduce the tenure policy to its employment while the same is disregarded for other Permanent Secretaries and some selected Directors is discriminatory.
The learned counsel to Alo Nwankwu maintained that the provision of the Public Service Rules 2021 reducing the length of service of his client, a Permanent Secretary of the Public Service of the Federation, who is eligible to serve for more than four years before attaining the mandatory age of 6o years or 35 years of pensionable service is unlawful.
In defence, 1st defendant’s- Head of Civil Service of the Federation submitted that the Public Service Rules as approved by the Federal Executive supersede any circular that was issued during the operation of the 2008 Edition of the Public Service Rules and cannot be used to invalidate or nullify any provision of Rule 020909 of the 2021 Edition of the Public Service Rules.
To the 2nd defendant- the Attorney General of the Federation submitted that the suspension of the tenure policy in the Federal Civil Service is no longer suspended and that the policy has been re-activated by the approval of the statutorily Revised Public Service Rules 2021 on 27 September 2021 by the Federal Executive Council under the leadership of the former President Muhammadu Buhari, who issued the circular dated 20 July 2016 through the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.
The Attorney General of the Federation further stressed that the Public Service Rules 2021 applies to all public servants, whether in the Civil Service or Public Service and discriminates against no one, and prayed the Court to dismiss Alo Nwankwu’s suit in its entirety.
In opposition, the counsel to Mr. Alo maintained that the Federal Executive Council cannot overrule Mr President by restoring the tenure policy, and averred that it is illegal to recommence the implementation of the tenure policy without the directive of Mr President because they have structured their lives and affairs based on the directive of the defendant communicating the suspension of the tenure policy, as such, the defendant cannot be allowed to state otherwise.
In a well-considered judgment after careful evaluation of the submissions of both parties, the President of the Court, Justice Benedict Kanyip held that a comparison between Rule 020810 of PSR 2008 and Rule 020909 of the PSR 2021 will show that under the PSR 2021, the tenure policy is no longer merely a proviso. It is a full-fledged Rule, with a life of its own.
The Court declared Alo Nwankwu’s assertion that the Federal Executive Council cannot overrule Mr President by restoring the tenure policy as bizarre and wishful thinking and affirmed that Mr President is the Chairman of the Executive Council of the Federation that approved the said PSR 2021.
A court in Adamawa State has ordered the Nigeria Police to pay N5 million as compensation to a man detained illegally for five years without trial.
The Adamawa State High Court which sat in Yola on Wednesday, ordered the immediate and unconditional release of the man, Hammadu Musa.
The court, presided over by Justice Benjamin Manji Lawan, declared that the detention of Hammadu Musa from 2019 till date by the state Police Command is unconstitutional.
The court ordered the command to pay the N5 million as compensation to Hammadu and to free him immediately.
The court held that the detention of Hammadu for over five years without being arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction is a gross violation of fundamental human right to fair hearing and liberty guaranteed by the constitution.
Details on the case indicate that Hammadu was arrested in 2019 by the vigilante in Song Local Government Area for alleged kidnapping and later handed over to the police in Song.
The case was moved to the state police headquarters in Yola, and the man was later detained at the Jimeta Correctional Centre where he has been since then without due attempt by the police to investigate and charge him in court if necessary.
The Minister of Aviation and AeroSpace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, on Wednesday revealed how he rejected an outrageous contract variation of N532 billion from the original sum of N90 billion, for the 2nd runway of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Keyamo made the disclosure when he appeared before the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, saying the Ministry has since revoked the contract to pave the way for fresh bidding.
He said: “After the N3.4 billion post contract consultancy fee paid to the contractor handling the project in May 2023, N90 billion was later paid in the same year for the whole contract out of which N30 billion was released.
“The contractor, after receiving the N30 billion and joining the Federal Capital Territory Administration to compensate some settlers on the affected land, left the site.
“All efforts made thereafter to get the contractor back to site proved abortive on the grounds of unacceptable contract variation being demanded.
“The contractor in question is demanding a contract variation of N532 billion from the original sum of N90 billion the contract was awarded for.
“To us in the Ministry, the said variation is nothing but fraud, leaving us with no option than to cancel the contract and call for fresh bids.”
Members of the committee asked the minister why the N36 billion owed workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways was not reflected in the Ministry’s 2025 budget for required payment.
The minister in his response said payment for the N36 billion has been shifted to the Ministry of Finance since the money is not meant for capital projects.
“The affected pensioners would soon get their dues from the Ministry of Finance and not from the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development. I met with leaders of the joint unions on this in November last year and they agreed to an arrangement put on ground”, he said.
He however disagreed with suggestions made by some members of the committee that establishment of Aerospace University across the six geo-political zones should be discontinued since there is one in Zaira, Kaduna State, already.
According to him, as the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, was established in 1964, so also was the Nigeria Law School established in Lagos.
“While the Nigeria Law School has been decentralized, the Aviation College in Zaria has not properly followed suit, which the Aerospace Universities are aimed at.”
He thereafter presented the 2025 budgetary proposal of the Ministry to the committee which according to him, is N71.13 billion, out of which N69.2 billion is earmarked for capital projects, N1.147 billion for personnel cost and N745.7 million for overhead.
However the joint committee through its Chairman, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari (APC Oyo North), told the minister the budget proposal would be given the needed approval after submission of full details on the state of 124 projects being executed by the Ministry.
“Historical background and current status of all the ongoing projects being executed by the Ministry are needed as requested for by this committee, latest by next week, for approval of the presented budget proposals,” he said.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of Prince Ntufam Hilliard Eta as Chairman of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) National Governing Board.
Eta, a seasoned politician and strategist, once served briefly as the acting national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) under the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
He is a former National Vice Chairman (South-South) of the APC and a Director in the party’s 2023 Presidential Campaign Council.
The NYSC National Governing Board, the scheme’s highest policy-making body, is responsible for setting its strategic direction.
Eta has been a staunch advocate for progressive policies and grassroots mobilization. His leadership is expected to bring innovation, efficiency, and expanded opportunities to Nigerian youths under the NYSC program.
Also, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of Gen. Jibril Abdulmalik as the Secretary of the Civil Defence, Immigration, and Prisons Services Board (CDIPB).
A seasoned security strategist, Gen. Abdulmalik brings a wealth of experience to the role, having served in the Nigerian Army and various security agencies.
He also served as the Director of Security in the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) during the last election.
With an extensive background in military intelligence and security operations, experts say Gen. Abdulmalik is well-equipped to oversee policy formulation and operational strategies for Nigeria’s paramilitary agencies.
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