TheCable

The federal government on Sunday released new guidelines to address the “indiscriminate and clandestine” recruitment going on in federal ministries, departments and agencies.

The practice is said to have resulted in the “ballooning” of the federal government’s payroll and could lead to non-payment of workers’ salaries and budget shortfalls.

The guidelines were contained in a circular issued by Habiba Lawal, acting secretary to the government of the federation.

While frowning at the practice which is “in flagrant disregard of rules and established procedures for recruitment in the public service,” Lawal said the new guidelines would help arrest the situation in view of the current economic situation facing the country.

She said that apart from creating ghost workers in the payroll, such recruitment processes have also perpetuated nepotism and regional imbalances in the public service.

“The attention of the president has been drawn to reports of massive and indiscriminate clandestine recruitment in federal ministries, departments and agencies in flagrant disregard of rules and established procedures for recruitment in the public service,” the circular read.

“Many MDAs have been carrying out recruitment in the guise of replacement of existing staff without following due process.”

She listed the guidelines to include: “Adherence to manpower budget for proposed recruitment which must be approved by the supervising agency or ministry, obtaining of waiver to recruit from the office of the head of service of the federation, and appropriate budgetary provisions to accommodate the proposed recruitment.”

Others are “letter of clearance from the director general of the budget office of the federation to confirm budgetary provision for the proposed recruitment, approval of federal character commission for the distribution of vacancies for the proposed recruitment to ensure equitable distribution of vacancies among the states, obtaining certificate of clearance for the federal character commission for the recruitment”.

Also included are “representation of the federal civil service commission as observers in the recruitment process in the ministries, representatives of the office of the head of service of the federation in other to ensure compliance with extant rules and provision of recruitment.

“In case of agencies/parastatals, appropriate representation of supervising ministries and agencies to provide necessary guidance and give credibility to the exercise; permanent secretaries and heads of extra- ministerial departments would be held personally responsible for ensuring strict compliance with this circular.”

Lawal said the implementation of provisions of the circular takes immediate effect.