Mr President, I write as the solicitor to CAMPAIGN FOR TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC OFFICE (CATAP), a civil society group that campaigns and fights against corruption, impounity and lack of accountability in public offices in Nigeria.

 

Following the neglect and refusal of Prof Isaac Adewole, the minister of health to address our various petitions on the case of Prof Chris Bode, the CMD of LUTH who is irregularly perpetuating himself in office, we erite to bring to the attention of Mr. President this veritable corrupt practice euphemistically referred to as sit-tight schem of public officers, now being carefully watered by our anti-corruption minister and waxing stronger under this president government and particularly the case of Prof Chris Bode, the Cheif Medical Director of the lagos university teaching hospital idi araba lagos who has remained in office outside the mandatory retirement age in flagrant breach of the public service rules.

 

Prof Chris Bode was appointed chief medical director of the lagos university teaching hosptial on the 25th of March 2015 and as at the time he was so appointed, he was already 59 years of age.

 

The case of Prof Chris Bode was one of the cases considered by the committee on renewals of tenure of chief executives of parastatals/ agencies under the supervision of the federal ministr of health, undr the chairmanship of danjuma kurau and the said committee which was put in place to examine the circular Ref No. HCSF/EEMS/EIR/B.63694/IV/T2/96 dated 27th of july 2009 from the office of the head of the civil service of the federation on interpretation of public service rules on compulsor retirement on age/ year of service in relation to tenured appointments of serving public officers, had found at the end of its deliberation that prof chris Bode did not retire as stipulated in the public service rules and after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 60 years and had recommended that since the CMD of LUTH had clocked 60 years by August 1,2015 he should retire immediately and hand over to the chairman, Medical Advisory Committee as the retirement age of 70 years is only applicable to the university of lagos which is under the ministry of education and not to LUTH which is under the ministr of health, for the appointment of the CMD of luth is regulated by the public service rules.

 

The public service rules, in chapter 020810, provide thus: "The compulsory retirement age for all grades in the service shall by 60 years or 35 years of pensionable service whichever is earlier" and that "No officer shall be allowed to remain in service after attaining the retirement age of 60 years or 35 years of pensionable service whichever is earlier"

 

It is this same rule that Mr president applied during the recent appointment of the Director General Budget for a tenured appointment till he atains the age of 60 or 35 years in service. But as self explanatory as this rule is, some career officers in the civil serive with the active collaboration of their political heads of ministries, plot tenure elongation schemes by deliberately looking the other way in flagrant disregard for the rules to keep thier cronies in office. This is the case of Prof. Chris Bode who is now enjoying the support of the minister of health who also favours tenure elongation of retirement age of 70years for professors in public service, himself a professor.

 

The effontery of prof chris bode to perpetuate himself in office in open disregard of the self explanatory provison of public service rules has been made possible by no other thing than a system and a ministry that preaches anti corruption war but deliberately fosters impunity and crass opportunism.

 

Prof Chris Bode as the chief medical director of the lagos university teaching hospital clocked the mandatory retirement age of 60 years on the 1st of Augus 2015 and has remained in office ever since at the pleasure of the minister of health, past and present

 

May we say Mr.president, for the purpose of record that LUTH is not under the ministry of education and therefore is not regulated by the university miscellaneous act provision of 2012, as Prof Isacc Adewole, our anti corruption minister would parade and want us to buy. may it also be said Mr. President that Professorship is not a pre-requisite to be MD/CMD of LUTH and the applicable regulatory instrument of the staff of LUTH, the office of the CMD inclusive, is the public service rules and once a professor leaves the academic to take up an appointment outside the academia, he is bound by the provisions of the public service rules as it applies to his office including the provisoins as to the retirement age of 60years

 

Meanwhile, the moves by this present government geared towards transforming the civil service into a functional engine that will drive the growth and development of the country in line with our national aspiration of being one of the leading economies in the world may not yield desired results if habitual corruption in the form of sit tight syndrome being encouraged by political heads of the ministries and the boards appointed to run the parastatals and agencies is not looked into with the utmost needed interest and tackled head-on by Mr. President

 

The Extant rule of career progression in the federal civil service on retirement of public officers clearly stipulates that all officers in the public service of the federal governemtn must compulsorily proceed on retirement consequent upon the attainment of 60 years or after putting in 35years of service. The exception to this rule, are academic staff of universities and judicial officers, whose retirement age has been fixed at 70 and 65 years respectively.

 

Section 15(5) and item 60(a) second schedule part 1 of the 1999 constitution specifically makes it a political objective of the state to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.

 

We have therefore put up this petition to your office Mr.President, in regards to this very sensitive matter to expose the regime of impunity that is sill struggling to survive under a new order that has openly declared war against impunity in public officers

 

In regards to the complicity of prof Adewole, the minister of health on this issue, the president should disallow any single individual with personal or fraternal interest to protect from being a clog in the wheel of the progress recorded so far by this governemtn, particularly in the area of impunity and corruption which were hiterto the social order until this present administration drew clear its battle line.

 

We demand Mr. President that the recommendations of the COMMITTEE ON RENEWALS OF TENURE OF CHIEF EXECUTIVES OF PARASTATALS/ AGENCIES UNDER THE SUPERVISON OF THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF HEALTH, under the chairmanship of Danjuma Kurau which was put in place to examine the circular Ref No.HCSF/EMS/EIR/B.63694/IV/T2/96 dated 27th of july 2009 from the office of the head of the civil service of the federation on interpretation of public service rules on compulsory retirment on age/year of service in relation to tenured appointments of serving public officers, which found at the end of its deliberation that Prof chris Bode did not retire as stipulated in the public service rules and after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 60 years and which recommende that since the CMD of LUTH had clocked 60 years by August 1, 2015 he should retire immediately and hand over to the chairman, Medical Advisory committee (CMAC), be revived and implemented for impunity to die a peaceful death, that the country may live 

 

WE WATCH!

 

SIGNED: Tope Temokun Esq

Solicitor to CAMPAIGN FOR TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC OFFICE (CATAP)