Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
In an unprecedented development, several senior level civil servants deployed to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management by the Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF), Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, have been rejected by the Minister, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq.
Some of those affected include deputy directors and directors, posted to the ministry that was created in August last year to provide the human resources back up for its take off.
THISDAY checks last night revealed that 28 directorate level civil servants were posted by Yemi-Esan to the ministry during the last exercise.
However, only nine of them were accepted by the ministry, forcing the rest to return to the ministries, departments and agencies from where they were posted.
The sources disclosed that those recommended by HoSF were rejected, because they had no clearly defined role in the ministry, considering the fact that the minister also brought her own team when she was appointed.
It was gathered the HoSF was displeased with the development.
One of the affected officials, who pleaded anonymity, said they were rejected because the minister brought many aides and retaining some of the directors would amount to duplication of role
.“The list forwarded by the Head of Service was rejected because many of us affected were senior civil servants of the ranks not lower than assistant director. We realised we were without official designations because the minister brought other people as consultants.
“In the light of that development, I had to accept my fate and return to my original MDA, where I have been assigned duty that matches my status as a director,” he said.
The Director Communications, Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Olawunmi Ogunmosunle, however, confirmed that some civil servants posted to Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs were indeed rejected by the newly created ministry.
She, however, cited lack of adequate office space as the reason for the civil servants’ rejection.
“From our investigation, the Director Career Management Office said those posted to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs were rejected because of lack of space and not because the minister wanted to bring in her own team,” Ogunmosunle said.
Although the ministry is working towards acquiring a bigger office at Jabi area in Abuja, its workers are dispersed because of limited accommodation spaces at the Abuja Federal Secretariat.
Such is the scale of the accommodation challenge that the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Tijjani Umar, still operates from the Bureau of Public Enterprises, which is on another wing of the secretariat, she disclosed.
