BY ANITA OKORO
The Federal Government of Nigeria has commenced the process of appointing a substantive accountant-general and has asked qualified civil servants to apply for the role.
This development follows the ouster of the former accountant general, Idris Ahmed, over allegation of fraud, and the appointment of Anamekwe Nwabuoku in acting capacity.
The announcement came through a circular from the office of the head of the civil service of the federation, Folasade Yemi-Esan, dated June 21, 2022.
According to the circular, the role is open to directors (accountants) on Salary Grade Level 17 in the mainstream of the federal civil service who are not retiring before the end of 2024.
The Accountant General of the Federation is the administrative head of Nigeria’s treasury charged with the responsibility to manage the country’s receipts and payments, ensure that a proper system of account exists in every department of the treasury, and exercise general supervision over the receipts of public revenue and over the expenditure of the Federal Government.
“Following the approval of the President, the office of the head of the civil service of the federation is commencing the process of the appointment of a substantive accountant general of the federation from eligible directors (accountant) in the pool of accountant general of the federation,” the circular said.
“Consequently, all accountants in the mainstream federal civil service in the pool of accountant general of the federation who have attained the position of substantive director (Salary Grade 17) on or before 1st January 2020 and [are] not retiring from the service earlier than 31st December 2024, are eligible to participate in the exercise,” it said.
The circular, however, added that officers undergoing disciplinary proceedings were excluded from the exercise.
It asked eligible applicants to provide documents to guarantee the process while permanent secretaries were requested to forward the following to facilitate the process: list of eligible directors on SGL 17, confidential and personal files of all eligible directors, five copies of curriculum vitae of each of the eligible directors, brief on each of the eligible directors in the attached format to be produced in Microsoft Word and in both hard (5 copies) and soft copies. It said soft copies should be sent via email to ohcsfemd@ohcst.gov.ng and also in a flash drive.
“The documents above must reach the office of the permanent secretary, career management office (CMO), office of the head of the civil service of the federation, Block A, 4th Floor, Federal Secretariat Complex, phase II on or before 4:00 pm on Wednesday, July 6, 2022,” the circular said.
