Court won’t stop Senior Civil Servants test

Court won’t stop Senior Civil Servants test

On Wednesday, a Federal High Court in Abuja turned
down a motion seeking to stop the Head of Civil Service of the
Federation from conducting competency and pre-qualification tests for
senior civil servants.

Justice David Okorowo struck out the motion, saying
the test the group was asking him to stop had already taken place on
Monday, August 9. He consequently adjourned the substantive suit to
October 22.

Standoff in court

Last Friday, Sunny Uche filed a suit against the
federal government on behalf of Association of Senior Civil Servants of
Nigeria seeking to stop the tests pending a court hearing and a judge’s
determination of the motion on the notice.

Mr Uche wanted a declaration that the Federal Civil
Service Commission is not obliged to consult the Head of Service in
exercising its powers of promotion. He also wanted the court to declare
that the Head of Service could not rewrite any of the existing
conditions for promotion, even when consulted.

The civil servants had asked the Head of Service to
delay the exam pending the determination of the case or risk being in
contempt of court.

Sticking to the plan

Notwithstanding the suit, the Head of Service, Steve
Oronsanye, administered the examinations as scheduled on Monday. Three
thousand senior civil servants of the directorate cadre defied the
early-morning rain to participate in the test. Even unionists, who had
challenged the test in court and picketed the Head of Service’s office,
turned out to participate in the exercise.

Mr Oronsaye denied being served the court injunction on Friday.

“They went to court. Unfortunately for them, I do not
think they got an injunction. If they had, I would not have conducted
this test, because I am a respecter of the rule of law.”

He said stiff sanctions awaited the workers who refused to take part in the exercise.

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One comment

  1. Okpe, J. says:

    It is never a surprise that some so called senior civil servant in the country refused to participate in the scheduled competence/pre-qualification test. It demonstrated the junk of nonentities occupying various positions in the name of godfatherism, political affiliation, character representative, name it without anything to offer for the overall advancement of our dear country, Nigeria. They are not well-read; they glue to the sits misinforming, misdirecting, misinterpreting, missing everything necessary to advance the course of civil service, yet, leading and remain untouchable. What a journey embarked upon by the blind congregation!!! They even turned out as monster cutting down few that have something in their upstairs to contribute or scare them away from the land. Oh’, it is true that the messiah is not acceptable in his own land. Best only seen from this group of good for nothing senior civil servants is their conning way of bringing in their flocks to continually perpetuating their worthless stance.

    Thumb up for you, Mr. Oronsaye and thank God for our present day Judiciary and its contributory efforts to ensure justice. May the (your) approach (in leading the civil service affair) see the light of the day (just as I keep praying for Oga Sanusi of CBN’s reform agenda). I hope the non-competitive so called senior civil servant would be given their boots (flushed) out of the system to pave way for competitive personnel to come on board to roll the stone. The Lord is your strength. Amen.

    Sir Oronsaye, permit me to ask this question. Is the agency, Federal Character Commission an active partner or a sleeping partner in the affairs of civil service responsibilities? If the answer is Yes, kindly sound a serious note of warning to them not to be bringing all butch of empty sacks in the name of nativity, ethnic or zonal or whatever representative to come and mess up the system. Any group who cannot boast of competitive personnel should relax and go back to their drawing board for future better representation.

    Thank you.

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