Without completing the screening governor Yahaya Bello has directed that all newly recruited civil servants should not be given form for screening. These categories of workers are called ghost, it is obvious someone is misusing the word ghost.
Kogi civil service has been turned into “ghost domain” whereby the genuine and sincere civil servants are wrongly classified or identified as ghost workers irrespective of years of service. In reality ghost mustn’t been seen, so it is funny that you keep calling those employed since 2014 ghost to justify the ongoing sacking of civil servants. Too bad that you naming dig bad names to justify the killing. The young good looking governor is unaware that the civil service remains one of the dignified functionary for the enhancement of the entire citizenry .
Gov Yahaya should have come out boldly to tell the world that he wants to downsize the workforce. While I don’t quarrel with the screening I want the governor to beware of the consequences of his actions.
It is important to fish out the ghost workers but it’s not safe to lay off workers. More than ten people feed through one single junior staff. The consequences are increased crime rates because idle mind is the devil’s workshop.
To confirm my submission here many newly employed civil servants including those with approval since 2014, there is a clandestine move to downsize by 40 percent .
There is a committee of five in government house working with the nominal role to achieve this ominous task. The difference between Wada and this young man is that Wada is touched with the feelings of the people while Bello doesn’t listen to God or men with wisdom.
The pain in my heart is that as a young man even if his tenure is one he should prove that he cares for the youth by ensuring that all those employed must retain their jobs.
Wada resisted the temptation of laying off the people to reduce the crime rate in the state. Wada paid only one month salary since he cane. And that money was the savings wada made. Wada preferred a low profile and bond to fast track the development of the state but Bello has demolished several part of the presidential lodge only to use over one hundred million naira to refurbish.
After a careful study of the financial profile of the state Capt Wada began to embark on projects that can help government reduce expenses like the Kogi House in Abuja, the Kogi Hotels, the International Modern Park, and several well-conceived agricultural projects. It is a pity that only charlatans are being assembled to run the affairs of the state.
There is no clear cut economic policy or development agenda.
Bello himself does not stay around. Any day he manages to be around, he moves from office to office to witch hunt.
We must commend Wada who paid this salaries for four years. On Tuesday, Yahaya Bello directed that Mrs Lawal, the acting Head of Service (HoS), should ensure the payment of November 2015 salaries excluding all the newly employed. This directive is a mere radio propaganda because no civil servant has received alert.
The number of those praying for the quick exit of Yahaya Bello now are up to eighty percent of Kogites. He inherited three months arrears but he is owing five months now. Is he better? If you want to do genuine screening like the federal government did, you use the BVN.
He can do that within one week in his office if Bello has no hidden agenda.
Nothing is happening in Kogi because all the technocrats have been sent home on compulsory leave so that the Chief of Staff, who has no experience in governance, can be sole administrator of all MDAs. Na wa ooo.
Where are the elders of Kogi State? You must rise to stop this young man from destroying our state. Those who promoted Yahaya Bello as humane and god-fearing that he wanted to use his business money to pay workers salaries but Wada refused, have you not been proved wrong.
We are aware that the wise steps Wada took to obtain bond is what is constructing the roads, the beach, the drainages, the hotels, the bypass, the fly over. For the records, Wada’s government established three digital FM radio stations but from all indications Yahaya Bello may not be able to staff them to meet NBC standard or fund them to be fully on air.
We are coming with more reports. It is expected that Yahaya Bello should have worked on all the roundabouts built with tax payers money that he destroyed since it is his own priority. We are watching.
You will recall that the Chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Kogi State chapter, Comrade Ranti Ojo recently berated the Governor Bello over his purported plan to sack 40 per cent of the present workforce in its employment.
The union alleged that the government had set up a parallel six-man committee sitting at the glass house of the Lugard House with a mandate to reduce the workforce at all cost.
Comrade Ojo demanded the stoppage of the committee, saying failure of which the workers might withdraw their members serving on the screening/verification committee of the state government.
He also alleged that the State government was engaging in witch-hunting by extending the 30-day compulsory leave it sent permanent secretaries and other top government functionaries for another 30 days without coming out to make public the offences committed by these categories of workers.
According to him, the union kept quiet when the first compulsory leave was given to the people by government thinking that their offences would be made public before the expiration of the 30 days.
“But we are taken aback by another circular No HSC/KGS/CIR/3/VOL.V/542 dated 15th March, 2016 titled Re: Urgent Directives from the Executive Governor extending for another 30 days the compulsory leave granted to our members in the service of Kogi state even when none of them has actually been accused of and found guilty of any gross misconduct.
“This current action is tantamount to a witch-hunt and a negation of the civil service rules and regulations given the conditions of service of our members in the state”.
Usman Okai Austin,
National Coordinator, PDPNYF,
PDP Headquarter, Wadata Plata, Abuja.
08038060215
