The Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Bukar Aji, says henceforth persons seeking to be appointed permanent secretaries in the federal civil service will be subjected to integrity tests.
Speaking at the 2013 Civil Service Week in Abuja, Aji said that the test would be undertaken through the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, and the State Security Service, SSS.
He said other relevant security outfits in the country would also be involved before a presentation would be made to the president for appointments.
Aji said the scrutiny would follow after they had been successfully voted by the directors in their respective ministries, where vacancies for the permanent secretaries existed.
He also said that such persons must be able to score 100 per cent during the selection process to be able to proceed to the next stage of the screening and that the new policy would maintain decorum and integrity of the service.
Aji decried a growing impression that the civil service had lost its values and called for a collective effort to salvage the service.
“As we are aware, there is a general impression that the civil service of today has lost its values and integrity and has deteriorated in terms of moral, discipline and productivity. The ciivil service had hitherto been known for its patriotism, discipline, loyalty, stability, impartiality, competency, innovation, productivity and honesty,” he noted.
He also said that corruption in the service must be tackled head on, adding that his office was strengthening the Anti-corruption and Transparency Unit in the ministries, departments and agencies of government to bring about the needed changes.