Prof. Nwilo, who was born on
February 15, 1954, commenced his working career with the civil service in the
Survey division of Sokoto State on August 1980 after a stint with Aniyoms
Surveys and A. Lakanu & Co. Surveys, Lagos between 1977 and 1979.
But as at the time of filing this
report, he has yet to retire from his position as the surveyor-general of the
federation.
Section 8, 020810 (I) of the
Federal Government Public Service Rules 2009 provides that the
compulsory retirement age for all grades in the Service shall be 60 years or 35
years of pensionable service .
It was also gathered reliably
that the minister of works, Mr Mike Onolememen, whose ministry the
surveyor-general’s office is under, is allegedly turning deaf ears to calls for
Nwilo’s compulsory retirement by concerned stakeholders.
This is despite intense pressure
mounted on the head of service of the federation (HoS) by very senior officials
to force Nwilo, who was appointed surveyor-general by President Goodluck
Jonathan, on October 16, 2011, to quit.
According to them, if nothing was
done to get the surveyor-general who attained the retirement age of 60 years to
leave office as specified by the public service rules , the country would be
witnessing a replay in the case of Prof. Afolabi Oladipo, former permanent
secretary and later head of service of the federation who had refused to retire
from office.
In a petition addressed to the
chairman of the federal civil service of the federation dated March 4, 2014, an
erstwhile deputy surveyor general, Mr Ayoola Abayomi, called for
the compulsory retirement of Nwilo.
He contended in the petition
obtained by LEADERSHIP that while the office was controlled by extant rules and
regulations contained in the public service rules in terms of appointment,
promotion, discipline and retirement. “He has refused to vacate the office in
line with the circular HCSF/EMS/EIR/B.63694/IV/T2/96 of July 2009, which made
it compulsory for any officer who has attained the age of 60 years to
compulsorily retire from service. In fact, he is still reporting till date,”
the petition noted.
When our correspondent sought to
get Nwilo’s reaction in his office, the surveyor-general declined to comment,
saying as a civil servant, he was not in “a position to speak to the press.”
He, however, admitted that “the
matter is already with the head of service of the federation.”
LEADERSHIP checks also showed
that the deputy surveyor-general, Ayoola, has since been redeployed from
the surveyor-general’s office back to the office of the head of service of the
federation, following his protest that Nwilo ought to have left office since
February.
It was also gathered that two
Surveyors-General were earlier brought from outside to head the office and
retired when they reached the mandatory retirement age of 60. They are Colonel
Babatunde T. Alo and Alhaji Yahya Mohammed.
It was further learnt that Mr.
Faud A. Kazeem, Adewola Isaac and A. P. C. Njepeume, three insiders, were also
appointed Surveyors-General in recent times before they retired when they
reached the mandatory retirement period.
“It is therefore a big surprise
that Prof. P. C. Nwilo has attained the mandatory retirement age of 60 but
refused to vacate office”, a source at the Surveyor General’s office also told
our correspondent.
The source who preferred
anonymity recalled that when the Surveyor-General took over on November 28,
2011, his predecessor had pointedly told him that he would be guided by the
Federal Government Service Circulars, Financial Regulations and Public Procurement
Act, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and other relevant
Acts/Laws.
“Today, after two years in
office, Prof. P. C. Nwilo has forgotten that he is in the public service, and
not the University, where he has to retire after reaching the mandatory
retirement age of 60”, he added.
When our correspondent sought to
get Nwilo’s reaction in his office, the Surveyor-General declined to comment,
saying as a civil servant, he was not in “a position to speak to the press.”
He, however, admitted that “the
matter is already with the Head of Service of the Federation.”
Culled from Leadership
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