By Zacchaeus Ozovehe, Lokoja
When in February 22nd, 2016, the newest governor in the country, Alhaji Yahaya Bello inaugurated Kogi State Staff Audit Committee with a fearless Retired Brigadier-General, Paul Okuntimo as chairman, the ghosts in the state’s civil service knew that their era of splendour have gone.
The wide acceptance of the staff audit exercise by majority of the state’s work force who felt mortaged over the years and the doggedness of Governor Yahaya Bello to ensure success of the exercise are stark evidences that ghosts in the state’s civil service would be thrown into perpetual state of despair.
In Kogi State and Nigeria in general, staff auditing is not a novel exercise. What has always been the bane of the exercise is lack of political will to fully implement recommendations by various committees that spearheaded them. In other instance, the ever elusive ghosts would in a stealth mode, influence members of the committee who are saddled with the responsibility to purge them off.
The news of the release of preliminary reports of the screening exercise in the state was greeted by mixed reactions.
While some were jubilant at the various mindboggling revelations made so far, others took to the streets to protest against what they described a deliberate attempt of government to retrench workers.
Poised to create a difference from the previous screening exercise in the state, Bello whose close fans described as unreservedly energetic, took a stroll to some of the ministries and schools to garner first hand information. Bello was quoted as saying” I have taken my time to go over the preliminary report to ensure that the final report of the screening exercise do not go the same way as it was during the previous administration.
It is also important to re-echo it once again that Mr President had released part of our bail out funds and I do not want the fund to remain in government account for too long.
“The screening exercise was very interesting as a lot of revelations, a lot of shoddy deals were unravelled. I took
my time to visit the collation centre to have first hand information about the exercise and after that I visited some
schools in Lokoja to see if what is being collated at the collation centre tally with the reality on ground.
Having met with the NUT representatives and various head teachers in the state, i decided to visit some schools within the state capital particularly Army Day Primary School and two other primary schools.
From my findings in those schools I visited, it was exactly what is being collated at the collation centre. By virtue
of the ghost workers discovered during the screening if we say that we should pay salaries of local government workers immediately, we will pay billions of naira into the pocket of few individuals and it will not be healthy for the state.
I was on my visit to the school when the first list of those who are through with the screening were released and there
are some workers who took to the street to protest that their names were excluded from the list.
I went to the venue of the protest to listen to them and I explain to them vividly what the current administration
is doing to ensure that the issue of payment of percentage salary will not resurface again in the state.
I equally warned them against doing things that will subvert the law”
Insisting that time was ripe for total overhauling of the civil service, the governor disclosed that just like corruption that is fighting back at the federal, the protesters were not civil servants but mere mercenaries hired by the purged ghosts in the screening exercise. The protesters were reported to be unable to name the ministry they were working neither could they produce any means of identification.
While the screening lasts, labour unions had threatened to withdraw from it as a result of some issues raised in some aspects of the form that sought their decision on their membership of any union.
On the disagreement and the issues involved, the chairman of the Staff Screening Committee, retired Brigadier General Paul Okutimo, said that labour could not go along with the progressive ideas of the government when it
is taking the interest of its members into consideration.
The Chairman of the Trade Union Congress, Mr Ranti Mathew, also explained that certain parts of the exercise were not too clear to the labour unions and that they needed to raise alarm for clarity.
However, responding to series of allegations that have continued to pour in, the governor had given the assurance that no genuine worker will loss his or her job, adding that a platform has been created to correct any possible mistakes committed by the committee in the course of the exercise.
“There shouldn’t be any fear about the ongoing screening exercise, no single genuine worker of Kogi state will be
sacked . If you are a genuine worker you will be screened, paid and you will be in the service of the state or local
government.
What is happening now where people are protesting comes from those who have been benefiting from the rotten
system whereby one person had a multiple names on the payroll and those type of people will definitely be affected
by the screening exercise and they don’t want it to succeed that was why they decided to send their cohorts to take to
the street.
Like I often say, this exercise must succeed by the special grace of God almighty.
There are few Kogi indigene who have decided to get the state rotten without recourse for the future of the state and
its people.
“I don’t think there should be tension because after the exercise if any body is left out and has genuine complain he or she can forward it and I want to make it clear that we are not retrenching , we are not down sizing, right sizing or left sizing because it is not our focus for now. We can not be intimidated to the point of abandoning the screening” Bello declared.
The governor debunked insinuations from some quarters that the staff audit is aimed at oppressing certain sections of the state. ”
Again, those who have been stealing Kogi wealth through over bloated payroll, we will be fished out and the money they carted away will be recovered.
We will not stop at that, they will face prosecution to serve as a deterrent to others . I am assuring the people of the state that there will be no sacred cow in this fight against fraudulent activities that had retarded the development of the state”
If the governor’s resolve is maintain, it is definite that heads will roll in the coming days as the screening results will soon hit public domains. The “ghosts” that have been milking the state’s lean resources may need to continually hibernate as the long arm of law will soon catch up with them.
