Legal icon, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), on Tuesday, flayed the rising cases of corruption and indolence in the country’s civil service, describing the trends as alarming and dangerous.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Babalola condemned the development at the opening of a two-day capacity training for officers on special cadres in the Ekiti State Ministry of Capacity Development and Training.
The training has at its theme: “Public Policy and Administration.”
Babalola, the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), who spoke in Ado-Ekiti, called for improved remuneration for government workers to discourage the trend.
” Corruption has eaten deep into Nigeria’s civil service. The civil service of today is riddled with corruption, indolence and eye-service.
” I am a victim myself, and some of my key staff can testify to this.
” It is so bad that if you write ordinary letter to the minister, you have to do ‘follow-ups’, and I think you understand what I mean by that, without which the letter will not get to it’s destination, talk more of allowing action to be taken on it.
” Also, if you want anything from the ministry, you have to ‘do something’, for action to be taken,” he said.
According to him, the civil service in the old western region was formidable, but the current civil servants in many parts of the country, who are meant to be the eyes and ears of the government, have usurped power.
“During the old western region, the civil servants were feared and respected, but later when they realised the enormous power they wielded, they virtually usurped power from the government,” he said.
Babalola said that sufficient payment of remuneration was expedient in the civil service, in order to bypass the parlous state of the nation’s economy.
“Special attention must be paid to the salaries and emoluments of civil servants, having regard to the parlous state of the nation’s economy.
“As things are today, the monthly take-home of an average civil servant can’t take him to the next bus stop.
“To make them productive, civil servants must be properly remunerated”, he said.
Also speaking at the event, the Ekiti State Commissioner for Capacity Development and Training, Prof Patrick Tedela, hailed the ABUAD for partnering with the ministry to organise the training programme.
The commissioner said the aim of the training was towards developing officers in the ministry and to rightly position them to effective service delivery.
The commissioner, represented by his Permanent Secretary, Mr Olaleye Olawale, added that the state government was committed to providing continuous training and development opportunities for public officers.
Also speaking, the immediate past Provost of the College of Social and Management Sciences and the lead facilitator of the workshop, Prof Ademola Azeez, said the purpose of the workshop was to find durable and sustainable solution to fundamental challenges in civil service.
Earlier in a welcome address, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Administration, Prof. Olasupo Ijabadeniyi, said the workshop would enable the ministry to contribute to the general well-being of the state and country.