THE Federal Government (FG) has threatened a showdown with civil servants leaking official documents.
The Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation issued the threat, stating that efforts were being made to prevent the public leakage of classified documents.
This was revealed in a memo from the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan, uploaded on her office’s website on Monday, February 19, 2024.
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According to the memo, the government finds leaking official documents embarrassing, which is unacceptable.
In the memo tagged HCSF/3065/VI/189, the Office of the Head of Service said the growing leakage of sensitive official documents in ministries, departments and agencies had been observed with dismay.
“As part of the efforts to curb this undesirable development, all permanent secretaries are to fast-track the migration to the digitalised workflow system and ensure effective deployment of the enterprise content management solution.
“This will reduce physical contact with official documents, thereby checking the increasing incidence of leakage and circulation.
“Furthermore, permanent secretaries are advised to warn all staff against leaking and circulating official information and documents,” the memo stated.
The memo emphasised that any officer caught engaging in such an act would be severely dealt with in line with the relevant provisions of the Public Service Rules and other extant laws.
The ICIR reports that the fresh warning could be linked to the recent leakage of a memo from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, which contained the government’s plan to provide N500 million in allowances to members of the federal government’s tripartite committee on minimum wage.
Similarly, a circular allegedly from the office of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, indicating a substantial sum of money to be set aside as a Hajj subsidy, found its way to the public space.
Civil society organisations (CSOs) were enraged by the two memos, and organised labour demanded that the allocations be investigated.
This is not the first time the Federal Government has threatened to sanction civil servants who leak official documents.
The Federal Government, through the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Yemi-Esan, on August 2, 2021, threatened to dismiss officials caught leaking classified documents on social media.
The circular with the theme ‘Unauthorised circulation of official documents/information on social media’ was marked HCSF/3065/Vol.1 /94.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance