President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday warned against what he described as the existing cold working relationship between some ministers and permanent secretaries in the federal civil service.

The president, while swearing in six new federal permanent secretaries before the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, warned that the trend must stop.

He also decried the “high level of indiscipline and impunity” in the civil service and government, noting that a system without discipline would fail.

Asking the new permanent secretaries to enforce discipline in their respective ministries, Jonathan observed that there had been incessant complaints in recent times about cold relationships between the political and administrative heads of ministries, agencies and departments of government.

Expressing his concern, Jonathan said “If permanent secretaries don’t work with the ministers and ministers don’t work with permanent secretaries, there is no way we can do what we are expected to do.