Date Published: 08/20/09

Retirement: NICO boss bluffs HOS; Gets Perm. Sec out of ministry

Attempts by the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. Stephen Oronsaye to make the Executive Secretary of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Mr. John Bernard Yusuf, to proceed on retirement over a year and half after he should have retired, is causing ripples in the civil service of the federation, with the later calling the HOS bluff.

Yusuf, who was due to retire from service since January last year, is still in office, 21 months after and is not planning to leave office, even with several reminders from the HOS office to go on retirement.

The same government directive on the placement and service period of civil and public servants caught up with Mr. Mike Okiro, the immediate-past Inspector-General of Police (IGP) as well as several other service Chiefs, forcing them to leave office, but Yusuf is hell bent on violating this government procedure and directive.

Given what the HOS observed as “criminal violation of Civil Service Rules” especially by some top shot chief executive officers, he had on July 27 th, 2009, addressed a circular with reference number HCSF/EMS/EIR/B.63694/IV/T2/96 which he copied the Principal Secretary to the President and Vice-President; all ministers/ministers of state; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF); Chief Economic Adviser to the President; Special Advisers/Assistant; Service Chiefs/IGP; Governor of the CBN; Chairman of Boards and parastatals, agencies, tribunals, commissions, agencies and extra-ministerial departments, directed them to adhere strictly to government rules on retirement age and year of service.

In particular, the circular titled “Interpretation of Public Sercive Rules on Compulsory Retirement Age/Year of Service in Relation to Tenured Appointments of Serving Public Officers”, drawn their attention to the several breaches on the extant rule.

Oronsaye stated in the circular of the need “to ensure correct interpretation of the Public Service Rules on compulsory retirement of tenured appointments of career public officers who are serving as executive directors or directors-general and chief executives of parastatals, agencies and government owned companies”.

He explained that “for the avoidance of doubt, and in order to maintain discipline and integrity of the Public Service, extant Public Service Rules, which prescribe 60 years of age or 35 years of service for mandatory retirement, should strictly be complied with.

“Accordingly, the following guidelines shall apply: (1) that career officers who wish to take up tenured appointments should, at the point of taking up the appointment, retire from service to ensure they run their term uninterrupted.

“(2) that career officers who have not retired or chose not to retire from service, before the commencement of their tenured appointment, must leave office on attainment of the mandatory age/year of service for retirement and

“(3) that career officers who are currently holding tenured appointments are required to retire from the service with immediate effect and continue to run their term.  Failure to do so would mean that they would vacate office on attaining the mandatory age or at the expiration of their term, whichever comes first”.

Yususf, who was born on 2 nd January 1948, attained the age of 60 years in January 2008 but has refused to retire from service even after he received the circular from Oronsoye 28 th July, 2009.

Worried that all other public servants affected by the circular had voluntarily left service except Yusuf, the HOS directed the Permanent Secretary in the supervising ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Dr. Goke Adegoroye to send him a reminder and ask him to immediately quit office.

On August 13 th, Adegoroye through memo number FMCT/6/S.2/Vol.1 entitled “Retirement from Service” told the NICO Executive Secretary to immediately retire from service and hand over to the most senior director in the agency, but as at press time, Yusuf is yet to comply with the directive.

Rather than proceed on retirement as required by law, the NICO boss has pitched the minister of Tourism, Senator Bala Gada against Adegoroye, creating serious problem in the ministry.   

The minister was said to have accused Adegoroye of over stepping his bounds when he wrote Yusuf reminding him that it was criminal of him to have remained in service after having received the circular from the HOS.

In the memo sent to Yusuf copy of which was obtained by our reporter, Adegoroye told Yusuf that “our file record indicate that you were born on 2 nd January 1948 and that, ordinarily, you should have proceeded on retirement in January, 2008 but for your tenured appointment as Executive Secretary, NICO.

“However, I wish to not that as a career public servant, you have been running the renure without due regards to the extant regulations of government prescribing 35 years of service or 60 years of age for mandatory retirement.

“Arising from this, you have been caught by paragraph 2 (i) and (ii) of the said circular (from HOS dated July 27 th, 2008), which expected you to have retired from service before commencement of your tenure, or in the alternative, to leave office on attainment of the mandatory age of service retirement.

“Accordingly, you are herby directed to immediately handover to the next most senior officer and proceed on your overdue retirement.  You are also to liaise with the National pension Commission for guidance on the effect of this newly approved circular on your gratuity and pension entitlement,” Adogoroye stressed.

Our investigations revealed however that due to the fact that he has been caught in a web which required that his gratuity be lessened by the amount of money he had illegally earned since last year he was due for retirement, he (Yusuf) decided to pitch the minister against Adegoroye.

It was learnt that after several visits to the minister, Senator Gada was compelled to work out a soft landing for him, even if it means forcing Adegoroye out of the ministry, which succeeded in the last shuffle of permanent secretaries as Adegoroye was removed.

Also, in-house politics, which had long pitched Yusuf against most directors in NICO, especially his immediate and most senior director, Chief Itakpa Azuobu, the retired NICO boss was said to have sworn never to hand over to him but to shop for a successor, who would guarantee his interests in the organization.

Following that the Tourism Minister was attending the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, his Special Assistant, Alhaji Mustapha Maigadi confirmed the development but explained that the delay in asking Yusuf out of the place was to straighten out inexplicable things.

“There were certain things done in the place before we came in which you are not aware of.  Because of those things, we have to take up the document and look at them.  It is not as if we are trying to protect anybody.  We only met them in the ministry.  The minister is at a meeting in the council.  You can come and meet him later in the day,” Maigadi stated.