Plateau State Governor Simon Bako Lalong has said his administration will no longer tolerate civil servants with questionable records and those with falsified data to remain in the system.
Governor Lalong was speaking in Jos while recieving the report of the Committee on Staff Audit and Verification that was saddled with the task of auditing the State Civil Service.
Governor Lalong said the Committee was necessitated by the desire of Government to address some of the challenges that constituted barriers to service delivery, professionalism, accountability and transparency.
He said “among other things, government was worried that despite the number of people exiting from the service as a result of deaths, retirements, transfers, withdrawals etc, the State wage bill appeared to be constant and even increasing.
He disclosed that his government is inundated with alleged cases of age falsification, record tampering, placements and other complaints that cast negative image on the service and capable of reducing the effectiveness and efficiency of the Civil Service.
He said the situation has restrained government from injecting fresh manpower into the system, resulting in a situation where the State Civil Service is confronted by loopholes and critical manpower shortages in various areas”.
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While commending the Committee, headed by John Gobak, Governor Lalong directed the Standing Committee on White Paper to immediately swing into action and submit a Draft White Paper for Government’s consideration and swift implementation.
He said this will enable government to resume promotion as well as employment processes in the Service as soon as possible even as he assured civil servants that the report will not be used to witch hunt anyone.
Soeaking, Chairman of the Committee John Gobak said as a result of the autonomy granted to the Judiciary and Legislature, the Committee only screened staff under the direct purview of the Executive with a total number of 14,418 officers said to be in Service.
Only 13,978 were authenticated indicating a difference of 440. Out of the 13,978 staff verified, 709 staff either falsified or altered their age while 673 others were wrongly placed, promoted or converted.
The Committee said 66 staff ought to have retired prior to the inauguration of the Committee on 20th April, 2021.
Another 17 cases were recommended for review by a Medical Board.
He said the Committee established that there is a manifest disconnect between the Salary Automation Unit in the Ministry of Finance and other important Offices of Government such as the Office of the Head of Civil Service and the Office of the State Auditor- General resulting in the Unit’s seemingly overbearingness and ability to function unchecked.
He said the situation has made it possible for some staff to continue to receive salaries months after they had disengaged from the Service either by death, retirement, transfer or secondment due to failure to timely raise variation orders in that regard or collusion to circumvent the system and or outright acts of misconduct.
The Committee therefore recommended that Salary Automation Unit should have a Tripartite Supervisory linkage among the offices of the Head of Civil Service, State Auditor-General and the Accountant General who may either jointly endorse the payment mandates or ensure on a monthly basis that what is paid is well vetted and genuine.
Editor: Omor Bazuaye
