APPOINTMENT OF NEW PERMANENT SECRETARY: DUTY COVER OFFICERS IN MINISTRIES ALLEGED TO HAVE BRIBED THEIR WAY TO MAKE LIST
BY OKEY ALOZIE
There are serious indications that Imo State Governor Dist. Sen. Hope Uzodinma is on the move to shop for new Permanent Secretaries to head operations in the ministries of the civil service.
Information getting to our news desk revealed that the officers covering the duty of the Permanent Secretaries in the ministries where there is no substantive Permanent Secretary have been alleged to have met with top civil servants and government appointees to allegedly bribe their way to get the position.
We gathered that acting Permanent Secretaries (Duty Covering Officers) have been meeting secretly to perfect their plans of becoming substantive administrative heads of ministries in Imo. It was also alleged that they are paying heavily for their names to be listed.
We further gathered that some appointees and top civil servants who are part of the deal have been positioned to do the job of convincing the government to accept the names listed in their paper.
The Acting Permanent Secretaries, according to many who spoke on this issue during a random interview conducted by our roving reporter over weekend want to navigate some huddles and difficulties involved in the process of government selection.
It could be recalled that most of the acting Permanent Secretaries last year took exams but along the line they failed and could not make it to become substantive Permanent Secretaries.
They believed now that with top government officials and civil servants, they will not fail again, rather they will get express appointment as substantive Permanent Secretaries
Last year, 300 people took the exams and only 50 were shortlisted for the final interview. At the end, 24 succeed as Permanent Secretaries and were inaugurated thereafter.
Report has it that many Permanent Secretaries have retired and needed to be replaced without delay.
Against this backdrop, the government is said to be shopping for level 15 and 16 officers that will take over from those due for retirement.
About The Author
