President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari said today  he will hold Permanent Secretaries responsible for failure to provide the required leadership, control and direction in their respective ministries or establishments.

The president gave the warning in Abuja on Thursday during swearing in of new permanent secretaries.

He said his administration would not condone any excesses, incompetence, indifference or corrupt practices in the civil service.
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President Buhari, therefore, advised the permanent secretaries to always guard against ”the complain of intolerable levels of incompetence, indifference or even suspected sabotage by some of the top echelon of the civil service”.

“I must, however, sound a note of warning. It is within public domain that Ministers as Chief Executives of their ministries as well as other government officials involved in policy formulation and implementation often complain of the intolerable levels of incompetence, indifference or even suspected sabotage by some of the top echelon of the Civil Service.

“Even where Permanent Secretaries, in some instances, are exempted from these accusations, they are still responsible and liable for failing to provide the required leadership, control and direction.

​“This administration will not condone any excesses, indifference, incompetence, and corrupt practices in any form.

”Permanent Secretaries are, therefore, advised to note these words of caution and disseminate them to all civil servants accordingly.’’

According to him, if Nigeria has to realise its full potentials for greatness, its civil service must first understand and accept the “change mantra” of the administration, and then lead its spread through all the institutions of governance and the economy.

He assured that his administration would continue to give all the necessary support, protection and encouragement to the civil service to do its work.