Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

The Federal Government has described the trend whereby government documents are now found in the public space as embarrassing and has threatened to dismiss anyone found culpable in the civil service.

Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HoS), Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, gave the warning in a circular dated  May 22, 2020, made public yesterday by Olawunmi Ogunmosunle, spokesperson for the H0S.

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The circular, HCSF/109/S.1/120, was addressed to the the following: Chief of Staff to the President, Office of the Vice President, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Permanent Secretaries, and Service Chiefs/Inspector-General of Police, and ministers, among other.

The HoS lamented the “unauthorised disclosure” of official government documents to social media platforms in recent months, saying civil servants engaged in such acts breached the provisions of the Public Service Rules nos. 030401 and 030402 and perpetrators risked being dismissed from service. She said the official documents, in some cases, were correspondences minuted on.

“This irresponsible and reckless action is an act of serious misconduct with a penalty of dismissal from service, as provided for in Public Service Rules Nos. 030401 and 030402. In some cases, official documents that have been minuted on are also leaked. The ugly development is embarrassing to government and, therefore, not acceptable. Any public officer caught engaging in this act of serious misconduct will be severely dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Rules. Permanent secretaries are to draw the attention of all staff to the contents of this circular and the consequences of breaking the rules,” Yemi-Esan said.