Prof. Tunji Olaopa, the Chairman, the Federal Civil Service Commission, has lamented a policy of hiring a thousand mediocre individuals on tasks that could be efficiently handled by 150 experts.
He added that poor compensation and pay structure have discouraged skilled professionals from joining the civil service.
He suggested a thorough regrading, job evaluation, and a comprehensive reconsideration of the entire structure.
A statement on Sunday by the commission’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Taiwo Hassan, said Olaopa spoke during a visit to the Chairman and Chief Executive of National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, Ekpo Nta, in Abuja.
According to him, the chairman said that the government has inadvertently institutionalised a policy where they recruit 1,000 mediocres to do work that could be done by 150 experts because experts do not want to work in public service due to its poor compensation and pay system.
Olaopa further disclosed that there is a breakdown of competency-based human-resources management that lacks the necessary IQ which has been made worse by the way the Federal Character policy is managed.
He said the issue of pay and compensation is a game of numbers and called for a serious re-grading, job evaluation, re-thinking of the whole structure, and clear policy and guidelines on the creation and winding-up of institutions.
He added that many institutions were created, later bloated and their staff dumped eventually on the civil service without strict treasury considerations.
He advocated a decentralised system of minimum wage, where states can pay their minimum wages according to their abilities.
According to the statement, “Talking about indexation of wages to inflation and other variables, Olaopa said the key issue is not wage or salary but some of the non-pecuniary benefits. He disclosed that the policy being worked upon by the Salaries and Wages Commission will help to guide the entire management of the pay administration system.”
He said having a competitive wage would clarify a lot of various uncertainties around the conversation, saying that it is high time for the country to practice de-centralization within fiscal federalism where States pay salaries according to their ability, as some States are still paying N18,000 minimum wage.
Nta lamented the recruitment process in the civil service, saying it does not prioritize competence, leading to an excessive expansion of the workforce.
Nta said employment into civil service is not competence-driven that leads to present over-bloating in the service, drawing from COVID-19 experience, adding that with grade level 12 and below stayed away from work for over a year at that time, and grade level 13-17 officers handled the entire work in the service cost-effectively bringing a lean workforce.
He disclosed that 156 staff in his commission run the entire national salaries, incomes, and wages activities of the country and advised the FCSC Chairman to digitise its recruitment, promotion, and discipline operations.
He noted that the cost of living adjustment for salaries and pay should not be done haphazardly but based on the mechanism of real and appropriate wages tied to the market variable and cost of living.
Poor pay discouraging skilled professionals from joining civil service – FCSC
