A RETIRED Director in the Federal Ministry of Works, Mr Bukar Muhammad, has called for comprehensive reforms in Nigeria’s civil service, particularly in the areas of pension, promotion and recruitment.
Muhammad who was also the Head of Department, Engineering Management Services of the Ministry, made the call in Abuja during his retirement ceremony after 31 years in public service.
According to him, the pension system should be reviewed to enable retirees to access what was due to them without undue delays and instalmental payments.
He said retirees should also be carried along in decisions concerning their welfare, stressing that they should be allowed to participate in discussions on policies affecting them.
“Pension needs to be reformed. What is due to us, give it to me. Let me go and manage my life.”
According to him, the government should engage retirees before introducing policies designed to address their welfare.
He also advocated improvements in the promotion system, saying a more transparent and effective process would motivate civil servants and improve productivity.
On recruitment, Muhammad urged the government to uphold meritocracy, expressing concern over cases where employment letters allegedly emerged without transparent processes.
“Secondly, promotion. The promotion style needs to be improved. And then the method of employment.
“Lately we discovered that employment letters just come out from nowhere. So the proper thing should be done, you know, meritocracy.
“The proper thing should be done. Get people that merit the position that you are advertising. Then they will raise this country to a far better level,” he said.
Muhammad, who reflected on his 31 years in the civil service, also assessed the state of engineering activities in the public sector.
He said about 80 to 90 per cent of the engineering work being undertaken in the sector was satisfactory, but noted that some areas still required improvement.
He identified inadequate funding and delays in payment to contractors as major challenges affecting the execution of government projects.
According to him, contractors often secure bank loans to execute projects, while delays in government payments expose them to accumulating interest charges.
He said the situation could make government contracts unattractive to contractors because rising financial costs could erode their expected profits.
“At a point, the job has no profit, there is no interest. So this situation is making contractors lose interest in government jobs entirely,” he said.
Muhammad urged the government to ensure timely payment for completed work to sustain contractors’ confidence and improve project delivery.
He also called on civil servants to embrace continuous learning and self-development, saying public servants should use periods of limited official activity to acquire new knowledge and improve their professional capacity.
“You don’t just take up an office and sit. If there’s nothing doing at that time, go and explore. Look for ways to improve yourself,” he said.
Muhammad said investing in the capacity of civil servants would ultimately contribute to national development by making government processes faster, easier and more efficient.
He expressed gratitude to God for enabling him to reach retirement and thanked the management of the Ministry of Works, his family, friends and colleagues for supporting him throughout his career.
He described retirement as a milestone that few people were privileged to reach and prayed for good health and safe journeys for all those who attended his retirement ceremony. (NAN)
