Ondo State Government has stated that the decision to retire nine Permanent Secretaries from the state’s civil service was borne out of measures to pave way for young officers to rise to the peak of their careers.
According to a statement by the state’s Commissioner for Information, Yemi Olowolabi, some of the nine Permanent Secretaries that were retired had spent 13 years in office, while the least among them is nine years.
Earlier in the week, the senior civil servants had cried out over what they described as their sack from the civil service, with allegations that the move was an attempt to pave way for the anointed kinsman of the governor to become the next Head of Service of the state.
According to them, the action of the state governor, Olawarotimi Akeredolu is unlawful as they are yet to attain the mandatory 35 years in service or the 60-year-old retirement age.
In the statement, Olowolabi stated that the retirement of the Permanent Secretaries from the civil service had no political undertone.
“The government simply took the decision to allow younger officers move to the rank of the Permanent Secretary, to pave way for younger officers to be appointed as PS in Ondo State.
“Most of those who are retiring now have been in that position for at least nine years, while some have been there for 13 years, 12 years, 10 years. So, that is the reason, it has nothing to do with governor paving way for anybody.
“Don’t forget that by the time the governor came on board, many people thought that the Head of Service who is retiring now was going to be removed. But the governor ensured that he completes his tenure, just like many other Permanent Secretaries who had been appointed before the governor came in.”
On the claim that the affected Permanent Secretaries have not reached their mandatory retirement age of 60 years or the 35 years in service, the commissioner explained that, “The governor can appoint Permanent Secretaries and the governor can also ask them to go on retirement.”
He added that their retirement was in line with extant circular in the civil service that any permanent secretary who has served for more than eight years could be retired whether reaching retirement age or not.
Meanwhile the affected Permanent Secretaries are: Dr Deji Akinwalere, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; Mr. C. O. Kolawole, General Administration; Mrs T. O. Kolawole, Culture and Tourism; Gray Eshofonie, Agric Input Supply Agency and Mrs C. I. Oyebade, Commerce and Industry.
Other are Mr Francis Olu Adaramola, Local Governments Auditor General; Mr Sunday Adegoke, State Auditor General; Mr Ade Akinbosade, Local Government Service Commission and Mrs Odunayo Ketiku, Local Government Staff Loans Board
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