By Kunle Adebiyi
The office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation has dismissed a report by Sahara Reporters that it allegedly collected N23 million bribe from 92 applicants vying for the post of Permanent Secretaries.
Mohammed Ahmed, Director of Communications, Office of the HOCSF, made this known in a statement on Friday.
The report had also alleged that the office plans to manipulate the postings of the Permanent Secretaries to different ministries.
The statement said: “The attention of the office of the HOCSF has been drawn to a frivolous allegation labeled against the person of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, by your medium via an online news story published on October 20.”
Ahmed in the statement said the story by Sahara Reporters was with the headline: “How Nigeria’s Head of the Civil Service of the Federation Extorted N23 million From 92 Applicants Vying for Post Of Permanent Secretaries, Planned To Manipulate Posting To Ministries.”
According to Ahmed, the unfounded report alleged that the HoS compelled 92 applicants participating in the ongoing selection process for the appointment of Federal Permanent Secretaries to pay the sum of N250,000 each for a one-week training programme.
The programme would commence on October 23, 2023 and end on October 28, 2023 at the Public Service Institute of Nigeria.
The statement said: “It is imperative to state here that the course fee was not determined by the office of the HOCSF nor is it paid into the office‘s account.
“The training and retraining of civil servants is the core mandate of PSIN and the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria.
“And as such, monies for such are paid directly into the aforementioned training institutions’ NUBAN account, linked to the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account.
“It may also interest Sahara Reporters to know that the said training is the fifth in the series since its inception and, most importantly, it is optional.”
According to the top official, it is the prerogative of the prospective candidate to pay and participate or not.
The training programme, Ahmed said, was aimed at refreshening as well as sharpening participants skills and competencies and there is no penalty for non-participation.
He added: “For the avoidance of doubt and the records, the process for the selection of Federal Permanent Secretaries is segmented, rigorous and transparent.
“The medium is advised to come for tutelage on the process and posting of Permanent Secretaries rather than relying on allegations and misinformation.
“This is highly unethical, to say the least.
“It is rather unfortunate that due diligence was not done by Sahara Reporters before this publication.
“It was written with the sole aim of misinforming the general public for reasons best known to them.
“In view of the above stated facts, you are requested to retract the said false, damaging and libellous report, put the records in proper perspective, as well as apologise within 24 hours to avoid legal action.”
