Controversy in Foreign Ministry over recall of directors

The recall of 45 directors who were asked to retire in December has sparked further controversy in the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Daily Trust learnt yesterday.

Daily Trust exclusively reported last month that the 45 directors had refused to go even after the expiration of their 8-year tenure.

They argued that their promotion was with effect from 2008 when they actually assumed office as directors and not with effect from the “notional” 2006 as stated by their promotion letters. But the Head of Service of the Federation and the ministry’s permanent secretary issued circulars insisting that the directors must go, in line with the tenure policy introduced in 2009.

About 32 of them are serving in Nigeria’s foreign missions while 13 are at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.

Daily Trust learnt that the directors later challenged their retirement in court, following which the Supervising Foreign Affairs Minister Viola Onwuliri recalled them pending determination of the court case.

A source at the ministry told Daily Trust yesterday that the directors at the headquarters attempted to resume work on Tuesday.

But the permanent secretary did not attend to them, even though it could not be confirmed whether this was deliberate or because he happened to be attending a bi-national commission meeting at the time.

Many officers hoping to get promoted with the retirement of the directors now see their hopes being dashed with the recall, sources in the ministry said.

The head of service had issued a circular dated January 9, 2014, as well as an official gazette No. 2 Vol.1 of the same date, directing “all directors in the ministry of Foreign Affairs who are in this category should proceed on retirement.”

On January 16, Ambassador Martin I. Uhomoibhi, the ministry’s permanent secretary, also issued a memo asking the directors to retire in compliance with the civil service tenure system.