From: Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Acting President Yemi Osibanjo has approved the appointment of 21 new Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Civil Service.
Their portfolios will be announced in due course according to a release signed by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita.
This appointment followed after a week-long rigorous examination of 300 Federal Directors at Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The change in policy for the Federal Permanent Secretaries to write examinations was part of the resolutions of the National Council on Establishment (NEC) held July 2016 in Minna, Niger State.
Over 200 of the 300 Directors earlier shortlisted for interviews and verification for the 21 vacant positions of Federal Permanent Secretaries failed to scale the hurdle for the final stages of the exercise.
About 100 scaled the verification of credentials, stage where 78 that scaled through to sit for the “Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Assessment Test” held at the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) Utako, Abuja.
The 78 successful Directors had proceeded to written examination stage held at the National Defence College (NDC) Auditorium Abuja. The examination was on “Relevant Public Service and Policy Issues”.
The successful ones then proceeded to the third and final level “Oral Interview/Interactive Session” at the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of Federation in Abuja.
In line with the federal character principle one permanent secretary is appointed per state as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The eligible states where the federal directors wrote the examination were Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross-River, Delta, Edo and Ekiti states.
Others were Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto and the FCT.
The appointed permanent secretaries are: Ehuria Georgina Ekeoma (Abia), Akpan Edet Sunday (Akwa Ibom), Anagbogu Ifeoma Nkiruka ((Anambra), Walson-Jack Diiarau Didi Esther (Bayelsa), Gekpe George Isu (Cross River), Aliboh Leon Lawrence (Delta), Uwaifo Osarenona Clement (Edo), Folayan Ayodele Olaniyi (Ekiti), Osuji Ndubusi Marcellinus (Imo) and Mu’azu Abdulkadir (Kaduna).
Others are Sulaiman Mustapha Lawal (Kano), Abdullahi Abdulazeez Mashi (Katsina), Adebiyi Bolaji Adekunle (Lagos) Ibrahim Musa Wen (Nasarawa), Odewale Samson Olajide (Ogun), Adesola Olusade (Ondo), Adekunle Olusegun Adeyemi (Oyo), Nabasu Bitrus Bako (Plateau), Ekaro Comfort Chukumuebobo (Rivers), Umar Mohammed Bello (Sokoto) and Aduda Gabriel Tanimu (FCT).