The Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries and Heads of the Civil Service of the Federation on Tuesday, 5 March, 2024, emphasized the need for their wealth of experience and expertise to be brought to bear for the growth of public service in the country.
The council spoke at the CORFEPS week in Abuja with the theme: ‘Reflections on Nigeria’s Public Service: Way forward for good governance.’
The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babagana Kingibe, decried that once a permanent secretary retires, he or she does not want to be seen which he described as a loss to the nation.
He said: “Although you have left where you served, you still owe your duty to the office you left and the officers who succeeded you to offer advice.
“However, there is a big mistake in the Nigeria context. When one leaves the office, the people you serve do not want to see your face anymore. It is a loss to the nation. Each one of us has a store of knowledge. The essence of the civil service goes beyond technical education. It demands greater capabilities. But how can we help the civil service when we are not consulted?
“We have to find a way to restore our transparent, and accountable public service.”
The Chairman of the occasion, the Olu of Ilu-Abo and the Baba Oga of the Akure Kingdom, and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation during the General Ibrahim Babangida regime, His Majesty Oba (Dr.) Olu Falae advised that there was still an opportunity to serve despite being retired as a government official. He advised that: “Continue to serve this nation in your capacity. retired permanent secretaries possess collective wisdom and knowledge.”
Also, the Chief Host and Chairman, CORFEPs, Yayale Ahmed said the public service is the engine room of the government, stating that the theme of the occasion would allow them to look back on their past journeys and assess the present.
Ahmed however advised the retirees to be brave, courageous and truthful at all times. “But if you do not tell the truth, the purpose of being former permanent secretaries and your reservoir of knowledge will not be gained by the nation.”
The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Prof. Tunji Olaopa, on his part, stated that: “Retired permanent secretaries are super because, as a unique dimension in policy and administrative professionalism, they had eyes that see through confounding complexities in a dark era of our nation’s history.
“They demonstrated managerial acumen which enabled them to leverage on their positions as bureaucrats to mobilise a portfolio of technocratic competences that enabled the Gowon administration to weather the storms of a singular burden of history, and at that, in a measure, that secured the unique endorsement, that an all-almost collapsed nation could go on as one Nigeria, despite her combustible diversities and dysfunctional federalism.”
