HoS Kifasi proceeds on terminal leave
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSF), Mr. Danladi Kifasi, is to proceed on terminal leave two months to his retirement.
Asked to confirm the matter, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, simply told our correspondent on telephone that “The truth of the matter is that the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr Danladi Kifasi, is due for retirement in December.”
Mr Kifasi, a chartered accountant and lawyer from Taraba State, was born on January 1, 1956 and will have attained the mandatory 60 years’ retirement age on January 1, 2016.
But a source in the Presidency said the decision to proceed on the leave might not be unconnected to President Buhari’s promise to “balance” his appointments.
Buhari had on August 28, through his spokesman Adesina, said he would soon balance his political appointments. Adesina then featuring on a Ray Power 100.5FM radio programme, “Political Platform” was reacting to criticisms that the appointments on August 27 of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Chief of Staff as well as the ComptrollerGenerals of the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigeria Customs Service were skewed in favour of the north.
The source yesterday said: “Mr President is a very sensitive personality and he is aware that people are already accusing him of favouring the north-east geo-political zone in some of his appointments. And incidentally, Kifasi, just like the current SGF, is also from the north-east. But don’t forget Mr President inherited Kifasi from Jonathan’s administration.”
The source, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, also hinted that President Buhari was considering some permanent secretaries from the southern part of the country as Kifasi’s replacement.
Buhari’s spokesman, Adesina, however, told our correspondent that he could not confirm whether the president was considering a replacement from any particular geo-political zone yet.