Anti-Corruption: Group Writes Buhari, Wants Report on Investigation of Perm-Sec Public

Following the petition against the permanent secretary, federal ministry of mines Mr Sunday Edet Akpan over false qualifications and use of questionable academic records, the Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Justice has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to expedite actions.

Speaking to newsmen after submitting a copy of the petition at the state house Abuja, convener Kabiru Dallah called on the president to prevail on the relevant agencies to make the report public.

Comrade Dallah wondered why in spite of the variance in age as against what is obtainable in the IPPIS, Mr Akpan has continued to remain in office.

A copy of the letter reads below.

26^th June, 2020

His Excellency

President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR,

President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces

Federal Republic of Nigeria,

Presidential Villa,

Three Arm Zone,

Abuja.

Your Excellency Sir,

PRESENTATION OF FALSE QUALIFICATIONS AND USE OF QUESTIONABLE ACADEMIC RECORDS BY MR. SUNDAY EDET AKPAN, PERMANENT SECRETARY OF THE MINISTRY OF MINES: AN URGENT NEED FOR INVESTIGATION AND ACTION TO PRESERVE THE INTEGRITY OF THE NIGERIAN PUBLIC SERVICE

The caption above respectfully refers.

The Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Justice is a group of likeminded civil society organizations with a clear mandate to amplify the voice of our member organizations to ensure that clear laid down standards in the conduct of government business at all levels. In executing our mandate, we scrutinize the rules and ensure that the conduct of all government officials is based on the rules and above all else in the interest of the citizens of Nigeria and the future sustainability of our country.

Our attention has been drawn to the fact that a very senior government official in the person of Mr. Sunday Edet Akpan, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, presented falsified documented information and records to perpetrate him in office beyond the legally approved limit.

According to records the said Mr. Sunday Edet Akpan, who began his public service career in the Akwa Ibom state civil service, before transferring to the Federal Civil Service in 1999:

1. Falsified his birth records, changing same from his original birth date of 1958 to 1962, meaning that he ought to have retired in 2018 when he attained the retirement age of 60years. This in clear violation of the Public Service Rule 020108 (ii), which states inter alia “Date of birth recorded on appointment by an officer shall not be changed throughout the career of the officer. Any contravention shall be regarded as an act of serious misconduct”.

2. Claimed to have started his educational pursuit in 1965, at the Qua Iboe Science Secondary School (Etinan Institute), even though the documentary evidence to support this claim is no longer in his file.

3. By his claim started primary schooling at the age of 3, which cannot hold against any know logic or convention of that time period or any other in the history of Nigeria.

4. Rose to the highest rank in the civil service and has prolonged his stay in office, while shutting out several other Nigerians who are better qualified and more suitable to progress in their careers.

5. Has brought into question the integrity of the entire public service system, having impugned and impeached the basis of recruitment, promotion and compensation in the public service, based on honest records. The Public Service Rules state clearly, according to Rule 020701 (c), that “Promotion shall be made strictly on the basis of competitive merit from amongst all eligible candidates”, and a character that has tampered with personal records for personal gain at public expense cannot be said to be an “eligible candidate” for promotion.

Based on the above, Mr Sunday Edet Akpan, is a threat to the time honoured integrity of the civil service system of Nigeria and there is a need for action to be taken urgently to redeem this institution to align it with the new Nigeria your administration is building on probity and zero tolerance for corruption in any shape or form. We therefore call on Your Excellency to use your good offices to accede to our prayers as follows:

1. That the said Mr. Sunday Edet Akpan be relieved of his duties in the Nigerian Civil Service, to restore public confidence in the service and to dissuade other officers from taking this disdainful course, pending a full investigation of the matter.

2. That Your Excellency cause an independent panel of inquiry to be set up to probe the circumstances surrounding this grave infraction, with a view to uncovering all who are complicit in this grievous cover-up to hoodwink the good people of Nigeria and swindle the treasury of undeserved expenditure and influence peddling.

3. That the said Mr. Sunday Akpan be prosecuted and caused to return all remuneration given to him beyond his legally recognized stay in office.

We have no doubt that the boasts of Mr. Akpan that he has “very powerful people in the highest levels of government”, would hold no water with your decades long reputation for confronting the most powerful elements of our society in the interest of the masses. We are indeed confident that justice will be served in this matter, to set a precedent of good conduct expected of public officers in Nigeria.

We anticipate Your Excellency’s prompt action on this national emergency so as not to provide cannon fodder for those who wish to discredit the good work being done by this administration to right the decades old ways of doing things based on the whims of a few to the detriment of the masses.

Accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of our highest esteem and continued assurance of providing support for all policies and programmes aimed at bettering the lot of the people of Nigeria.

Kabiru Ibrahim Dallah

President

CC:

• Secretary to the Government of the Federation

• Head of Service of the Federation

• Director General, State Security Services

• Inspector General, Nigeria Police Force

• Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Petitions

• Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions