By Abasi Ita, Calabar
Political pundits in Cross River state are getting increasingly perturbed over the legality of laws emanating from the State Legislature arising from the status of the Assembly clerk who has continued to remain in office despite his official retirement date of September 22, 2023
Investigations by Summit Post News uncovered that the present Clerk, Mr Dominic Akiba, who hails from Odukpani Local Government Area, same as Governor Bassey Otu was slated to officially retire from service on September 22 on age grounds, having attained the mandatory 60 years stipulated by extant laws and public service rules as the retirement age limit for public servants in the state and country, outside the education sector.
Instead of stepping down honorable to to enable his deputy, Barrister Catherine Ubi to take over the mantle as the new substantive clerk in accordance with established procedural routine in the service, Mr Akiba is alleged to be dropping the Governor’s name and pulling every string at his disposal, especially his communal affinity with Governor Bassey Otu to to sit tight in office in flagrant disregard to service rules.
Summit Post News gathered that already, the development is generating heated arguments as well
ripples amongst stakeholders who believe strongly that the glaring impunity will impinge negatively on the integrity of statutory functions of the Assembly with an illegal principal officer heading the administrative cadre.
Speaking to Summit Post News during a telephone interview, a Lagos based legal practitioner and retired deputy director from the federal ministry of foreign affairs, Dr Patrick Bassey described the development as “an illegality with dire consequences for the Assembly and the public service.
The retired bureaucrat posited that; “In the face of the law, any document with the signature of Mr. Dominic Akiba with effect from September 23, 2023, is null and void”
He stressed further, ” It’s a pity that the bastardization of the state public service instigated by the last administration headed by Ayade for ulterior motives has continued unabated irrespective of the unsavory implications and negative precedents”
Barrister Bassey explained further ” The civil service is programmed to guarantee seamless progression based on merit, competence and educational or professional qualification. This is intended to promote utmost service delivery on the part of the staff in terms of set objectives. Once the process is truncated by the privileged few to deny others their rights, it breeds bad blood, contempt, and acrimony thereby setting a negative precedent with a corrosive effect on the entire system, affecting both the foundation and structure of the Service”
“Though the governor or president has the prerogative to extend the tenure of the highest ranked officer in an establishment for undisclosed reasons, the action must be taken before the retirement date and duly backed by a statutory proclamation.
The case in Cross River Assembly where a retired clerk is still in office merely because he’s the Governor’s kinsman even with a subsisting government circular issued by the present administration cancelling all service extension approvals is an aberration”
In his submission, a serving member of the Cross River 10th Assembly who opted for anonymity, frowned at the issue arguing that “Such a level of injustice will not stand and should not be tolerated in the service”
Continuing,”It is provoking that each time a woman, having paid her dues is billed to assume the pinnacle of her career in Cross River state Civil Service,we resort to a litany of illegality to frustrate her. We witnessed the ugly scenario in the build-up to the emergence of Justice Akon Ikpeme as the Chief Judge of our state. I hope the Federation of Women Lawyers, FIDA, Basic Rights Counsel Initiative, and women’s rights groups will rise to protect the interests of Barrister Mrs Catherine Ubi in this matter”