Jimi Agbaje, the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, has faulted the appointment of Hakeem Muri-Okunola as the new Head of Service (HOS) saying it was impunity taken too far.
Muri-Okunola, a Personal Assistant (PA) to Bola Tinubu while he (Tinubu) served as governor of Lagos State, was absorbed into the civil service in 2007 with appointment as executive secretary, Lands Bureau, as Tinubu was exiting government in 2007.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode swore in Muri-Okunola as the 21st HOS of Lagos State, on Monday, replacing Folashade Adeosye, who retired after 35 years in service. Until his appointment, Muri-Okunola was the most senior permanent secretary in service.
Agbaje in a statement by his campaign organisation on Thursday said the action sacrificed career progression and was politics taken too far.
Agbaje described the appointment as “insensitive, unjust and disruptive” of the civil service hierarchy.
He alleged that the government had forcefully retired 21 senior and more experienced permanent secretaries to pave the way for the new man.
“There is a sense of shock and injustice in all these. It is bound to create bad blood and injustice within the system.
“These are seasoned personnel capable of fitting perfectly and effectively in that office.
“But in this era of impunity, they have been offloaded prematurely,” he said.
Agbaje said that Muri-Okunola served as the PA to former Governor Tinubu and that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had imbued him with very abnormal privileges.
“Muri-Okunola lacks that broad-based exposure, which makes him a misfit for the post on which he has been imposed. Whoever becomes HoS is usually a civil servant with widespread exposure, as he must be abreast of all issues related to the bureaucracy and governance.
“But all these rules and traditions have been bent for this appointment,” he said.
The PDP candidate said the development portends grave danger to the state’s bureaucracy, founded on the foundations of merit-nurtured progression through the rungs of the career ladder.
“It is befuddling to imagine how officers who are 15 years older than the new HoS will take orders and directives from him.
“From all indications, this might be too farfetched and difficult, and it has a way of impacting negatively on governance, taking into cognizance that the Civil Service is the engine room of not just government but the society,” he said.
