The Federal Government, represented by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoSF), Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, has emphasized that the employment and recruitment of new civil servants must be strictly merit-based to ensure the highest standards.
Dr. Yemi-Esan made this clear during a media parley with executives in celebration of Civil Service Week. She clarified that while the office of the Head of Service oversees several functions, it does not directly handle recruitment, which falls under the purview of the Federal Civil Service Commission.
“The office of the Head of Service is responsible for issuing waivers for employment and communicating these to the commission, highlighting the available vacancies that need to be filled,” Yemi-Esan explained. She further urged the commission to adopt a merit-based approach in their recruitment process to ensure the best candidates are selected for civil service roles.
“We have repeatedly informed them that hiring untrainable individuals creates significant challenges for us. Therefore, employment into the civil service must be completely merit-based,” she stressed.
Addressing concerns about some civil servants not being listed on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), Dr. Yemi-Esan stated that proper enrollment is straightforward if institutions adhere to the guidelines. She highlighted issues arising when institutions exceed their approved employment quotas, leading to discrepancies in the IPPIS records.
“For instance, if an institution receives a waiver to employ 100 people but hires 250, it complicates the IPPIS enrollment process. This is a common issue we encounter,” she noted.
Dr. Yemi-Esan recounted an instance where an institution escalated matters to the National Assembly, accusing her office of not creating enough vacancies. “Vacancies are not something you can simply create at will. They must be based on an institution’s organizational structure and functional needs,” she explained.
“When institutions request new hires, we review their current staffing and available vacancies before granting waivers for the specified number of positions,” she added.
Dr. Yemi-Esan also criticized certain institutions for becoming overly political and prioritizing interests that do not align with the government’s objectives. She called for a more disciplined and transparent approach to civil service recruitment to maintain the integrity and efficiency of the workforce.
