The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Stephen Oronsaye, has argued that wage review in public service “should be by a holistic approach where everybody is dealt with at the same time. It will be a good thing for people to sit in committees to work out in a holistic manner, how pay rise should be done, and for everybody at the same time.”

Speaking at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum, yesterday, in Abuja, Oronsaye said although the service had come a long way, it still faced a lot of challenges.

Oronsaye, however, said that anyone urging a salary raise must do so within the resources available to government, adding that he did not believe that reviews should be done in segments.

He said  his office was not privy to a table currently being circulated among some civil servants as the salaries the Federal Government planned to pay its workers.

The Head of Service said that the government was currently working on a new salary structure for its workers and that it would become effective from July.

In a nationwide broadcast on May 29 to mark this year’s Democracy Day, President Jonathan Goodluck announced that Federal Government workers would start earning enhanced salaries from July.

Though, he stressed that at 50, the federal civil service has yet to be where it should be, adding:  “We are, however, improving every day as we are striving to put new measures in place.

“But the important thing is that we know that we have a challenge and a responsibility to deliver service to the citizenry of this country.

“If I say we have all it takes to deliver at present, I would be deceiving myself and the Nigerian society, but we have the potential to do so if we build the necessary capacity,” he said.

He said a mandatory training programme was already being organised for civil servants across the country to boost their capacity and to ensure effective service delivery.

Oronsaye also expressed support for the reflection of federal character in the nation’s employment policy.

According to him, it is the manner in which those in authority implement rules and regulations that is the “big problem’’, and not the policy.

Oronsaye said that he would always subscribe to the laws of federal character as it created sustainability.

He said: “With federal character emerging, I tell you the truth; it is the best and should be applied at the point of entry into the service. If I want somebody from my state, it should not be that because I am Head of Service, I know that Mr. A is the least qualified, that is the person I recommend.’’

Oronsaye then urged civil servants to always do their best, adding that if they did, those employed at the same time would, with adequate training and hard work, progress together.

However, the head of service said that in progressing, merit should be the target. He said some foreign countries had visited Nigeria to find out how it had used the federal character policy to keep its workforce united despite the multifarious ethnic background.