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Controversy over retirement of surveyor-general

By BusinessNews Staff on April 14, 2014

Trouble is brewing in the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation over the retirement age of its head, Prof. Peter Nwilo, who clocked 60 recently.

Some aggrieved employees of the OSGOF are calling for the exit of the surveyor-general on the grounds that he had attained the mandatory retirement age of 60.

But Nwilo is said to have insisted that he was on political appointment with four-year tenure; just as he reportedly said as a lecturer, he had a retirement age of 70.

Our correspondent gathered that the development was already causing disaffection in the agency and slowing down its activities.

The OSGOF is an extra ministerial department headed by the Surveyor-General of the Federation with the Federal Ministry of Works as its supervisory ministry.

It was learnt that Nwilo marked his 60th birthday on February 15, 2014.

Concerned persons at the agency said the surveyor-general’s refusal to retire was “causing serious stagnation in the promotion of management staff of the OSGOF.”

In a document made available to our correspondent, the aggrieved persons claimed there was no four-year tenure in Nwilo’s first appointment letter.

“We were made to understand that as a result of the petition written by one of the deputy directors against his (Nwilo’s) continuous stay in office, another letter of appointment different from the original letter used for his documentation on assumption of duty as the SGOF and throughout his stay for two years, resurfaced.”

The second letter stated that the surveyor-general’s tenure was for four years, as opposed to the first appointment letter.

“We are appealing to the President, Vice-President, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Minister for Works, Head of Service, Head of the Civil Service Commission, Chief Justice of the Federation, Accountant-General of the Federation to please come to the aid of the office and save the institution from total collapse,” the document said.

In his reaction, Nwilo told our correspondent that he had not completed his tenure and stressed that those who wanted him to retire were causing problems for the agency.

He said, “As a public officer, I cannot be commenting on something that the government is working on. I am a professor and professors retire at 70 if I am to be judged by that; but the truth is that I have the tenure to do this job.

“People are only going around creating problems. The government that put me here has not said that I’ve finished my tenure of four years. I cannot retire because I am a public officer and a professor of a university.”

Prof. Kayode Soremekun of Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, speaking to our correspondent on the issue, said he believed the retirement age was for those teaching in tertiary institutions.

He, however, said since Nwilo was appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan, his retirement should be based on when he would complete his tenure.

Soremekun said, “As much as possible let us try to disaggregate the issues. When you say a professor retires at 70, my understanding is that if he is within the university system, then 70 years will be the retirement age.

“But the point is this, if he is now working in the civil service where the retirement age is 60, what happens? Will he now use the 70 years retirement age in the civil service? I think this should be best answered by lawyers. For the 70 years retirement age, the assumption is that professors are so experienced and that if you retire below 70, it may be a waste.

“Also, I want you to remember that the surveyor-general is a political post. And since it is a political appointment, do you have 60 years tied to it? It is more of a political appointment and since he was appointed by the President, the question of retirement doesn’t apply. It is now a question of tenure. Tenure should be the operating word.”

[Punch]

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