Published 12 May 2021 A civil society group, New Era for Sustainable Leadership and Accountability Initiative, has frowned on the appointment of non-career civil servants as permanent secretaries by state and federal governments, stating that it dampens morale of hardworking members of the civil service. The group insisted that appointment into the top public service position should be based solely on merit and hardwork and not political patronage or nepotism. Disclosing this in Abuja on Wednesday, the Executive Director, NESLAI, Edwin Olorunfemi, admonished the government to develop a workable template and mechanism that will see to the emergence of the best hands for the job.