Some National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) staff who participated in the 2023 promotion examination have cried out, alleging the management of nepotism.
They further alleged that they were unjustly denied elevation to the next step.
In a letter signed by 19 of them and released to newsmen on Monday, the aggrieved staff appealed to the authority’s Director-General, Professor M.N. Sambo, to intervene in the situation.
The senior staff, who are assistant directors waiting to be promoted to deputy directors after passing the examination, claimed that their colleagues who took part in the exercise “were selected and promoted while others were unsatisfactorily informed that there is no vacancy.”
According to them, this was not established before the examination, arguing that the vacancy issue is not only an “afterthought,” but also “preemptive.”
“After the 2023 Senior staff examination and before approval was obtained for promotion, the Human Resources Department posted some staff which seems to us as to jeopardise the chances of some other staff to be promoted,” the letter reads.
“It should be noted that staff were posted from Head office to create a vacancy for some and to stagnate others in the State and Zonal Offices,” the statement reads.
It cited further irregularities in the promotion process noting that, “there is a staff whose appointment had not been confirmed, but was an Acting State Coordinator yet Assistant Directors who have met the requirement for promotion do not have vacancies for Deputy Director cadre as State Coordinator.
“We got to know that the appointment of this same staff was just confirmed after the examination to keep the position, this is preemptive.”
A report initiated by the office of the Head of the federal civil service, “Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (2017-2020),” shows that nepotism in recruitment and promotion affects employees’ morale and productivity.
The affected senior staff fears these. According to the statement, they were told that despite passing their promotion exercise, they would only be shortlisted for the 2024 promotion exercise, subject to the availability of vacancies.
“It is almost certain that the affected staff will still not be promoted because this current arrangement of consequential vacancy will not change substantially for affected staff to benefit from against the 2024 examination,” the statement adds that the situation could haul the Management of the agency into “administrative disrepute as manifested in some uninformed recommendations that could further deepen needless industrial disharmony in the system.”
The senior staff implored the Director General to note that: There are vacancies for Deputy Directors in the Authority, both at the State offices and Headquarters, but some Assistant Directors who met the requirement to be promoted were not considered in the recommendation for the 2023 Senior Staff promotion to fill those vacancies.
Some Assistant Directors prefer to be promoted with the option of exiting service thereafter than to stagnate at the present level.
Some assistant directors prefer to be promoted and posted to a state office since the authority is one and staff can serve in any location.
The issue of vacancy should be considered globally by the Authority. We should not be posting staff from headquarters to state offices and staff cannot be posted vice versa.
They also called on the agency’s Director General to review the decision of the promotion exercise and release letters of promotion to Deputy Directors that substantially complied with the public service rules and requirements for promotion.
