The Politics Of Patronage: Why Swearing In Permanent Secretaries Is Destroying The Civil Service

-By Zik Gbemre

There was a time when the civil service stood as an immovable pillar of administrative competence a quiet, formidable engine of statecraft operating seamlessly behind the scenes. It functioned under a sacred rule of professional continuity: when a Permanent Secretary retired, the most senior, experienced, and tested civil service worker automatically stepped into the role.

There were no political spectacles, no executive patronage, and no public swearing-in ceremonies. Today, that legacy of stability has been systematically dismantled by political intrusion.

The Fall of Administrative Continuity

The introduction of political discretion into the appointment and swearing-in of Permanent Secretaries and the Head of Civil Service is not merely ceremonial drama it is a profound structural assault on public administration.

Career civil service jobs were designed to be insulated from the shifting winds of electoral politics. When politicians transformed these permanent career ranks into discretionary political appointments, they broke the bedrock of statutory meritocracy.

Under the traditional system, career progression was earned over decades of service, rigor, and technical mastery. A civil servant entered at the junior ranks and climbed through structured examinations and performance reviews. Automatic succession upon retirement guaranteed that leadership was vested in individuals with unmatched institutional memory.

Replacing this mechanism with political preference has crippled organizational morale and eroded the very essence of administrative independence.

_”Swearing in permanent secretaries and heads of service as political handpicks is a dangerous charade. It transforms non-partisan guardians of public policy into implicit political loyalists.”_

The Cost of Politicization

The consequences of this political encroachment are evident across all levels of government operations:
Erosion of Merit & Incentive: When senior roles are awarded based on political alignment rather than seniority and competence, dedicated civil servants lose the incentive to excel. Sycophancy replaces capability.

Destruction of Institutional Memory: Bypassing veteran administrators in favor of political favorites deprives ministries of decades of domain expertise, leading to repeated policy missteps and governance failures.

Compromised Financial Checks & Balances: Permanent Secretaries serve as the chief accounting officers of government ministries. When their tenure depends on executive political favor, their ability to resist unlawful directives or enforce fiscal compliance is fundamentally undermined.

Loss of Non-Partisan Neutrality: Public swearing-in ceremonies hosted by political officeholders blur the line between temporary elected politicians and permanent public servants, casting doubt on administrative neutrality during transitions of power.

Restoring the Shield: The Path to Reform

If we are genuinely committed to strengthening public governance, politicians must completely hand off the appointment process for Permanent Secretaries and the Head of Civil Service. Administrative reforms must focus on returning these roles to their core identity: professional, non-partisan administrative stewards.

1. Eliminate Executive Discretion: Executive powers to appoint senior civil service leadership must be constitutionally constrained or statutorily abolished. The practice of political swearing-in ceremonies for non-political career positions should be eliminated immediately to reinforce their independence.

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2. Reinstate Statutory Merit & Seniority: Statutory seniority and Civil Service Commission merit-based evaluations must once again become the sole criteria for leadership succession. When a Permanent Secretary vacates office, the succession must be automatic, transparent, and predictable.

Zik Gbemre
August 29, 2026

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