APC Rejects Dickson’s 35 Perm Secs

The last minute appointment of 35 new permanent secretaries into the Bayelsa State civil service by governor Seriake Dickson barely two months to his exit has continued to generate controversy.
The most recent condemnation of the appointments is coming from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, describing the development as a ploy by the outgoing restoration government to leave an unbearable financial burden for the incoming APC led government.
In a statement signed by its state secretary, Mr. Alabo Martins, the APC said “while we are not averse to such appointments, especially if they are in tandem with civil service rules and regulations, we wish to express our reservation with regards to the timing as the appointments are made less than three months to the expiration of the present administration.”
The APC which will take over power from the PDP come February 14, 2020 following its governorship victory at the polls, wondered why Dickson was making such hasty appointments when it had all the opportunity to have done that for the past eight years.
“If the outgoing administration was aware of the existence of these vacancies in the top echelon of the public service of the state and that the situation was creating a lull in the service, why were the vacancies left unfilled until the eventide of the administration.
“No doubt, the appointments are in bad taste, just as the motive is clearly political.
“We appreciate the fact that until February 14, 2020, the present administration has the constitutional powers to hire and fire but this responsibility should be carried out in the best interest of the state and its people.
“We must say that the present scenario is just for the satisfaction of some political interests and therefore falls far short of the wider interests of the state.
“Instead of completing the lingering eight years old uncompleted projects, an administration that went all out sacking, retiring and refusing to promote civil servants in order to decrease its wage bill to the detriment of civil servants have suddenly found vacancies to employ and appoint civil servants .
“We, therefore, advise the state government to do the right thing for the sake of posterity. Because we as a party will review the eligibility of the clandestine employments and appointments in the civil service to over bloat the wage bill to incapacitate the- incoming government.
“Also, banks and financial institutions have been advised to refrain from giving out loans to the out- going government; any bank doing so is at its own risk,” the APC said.
The newly appointed permanent secretaries were sworn-in on Friday by the governor amidst complaints in different quarters that the appointments negated civil service rules as most of the appointees were not the most senior in their departments or ministries.