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The staff verification exercise embarked upon by Kogi State government about 12 months ago has been enmeshed in repeated controversies.
The four different committees that have handled the screening exercise so far have failed to douse rumour in the state that the government is only using the exercise as a smokescreen for its planned retrenchment.
So far, most of the reasons adduced for not clearing affected workers are ridiculous. The continuous change of committees and the multitude that throng government house to complain is enough proof that the screening approach is faulty.
Diaspora Withdrawals
One of the easiest ways to suspect a ghost worker is through detection of repeated withdrawals from the salary accounts from locations outside the state. All the committees have employed this method but applied it without common sense.
From experiences of civil servants, the committee has exhibited intellectual laziness and stereotyping in their approach to this good method.
A recent interaction with Kogi State Polytechnic staff, who recalled their experiences with the below par committee, shows that many civil servants are being made to go through dehumanizing experience just because the committee members are inept.
A civil servant, who narrated his ordeal, agreed to have made repeated withdrawals from his salary account outside Kogi State within a period of 18 months while he was away on study leave. When asked by the committee, he promptly informed them that he was on study leave and he has since returned to work after successful completion of his Master’s program. He showed the committee his letter of approval for the study leave, bond with the polytechnic and the Master’s degree statement of result. What other evidence do you need? Obviously confused, the committee ordered policemen to arrest the civil servant and take him to police headquarters for questioning.
Is it now a criminal offence to go on study leave with approval?
More ridiculous scenario was witnessed when some workers of Kogi (Koton Karfe) LGA were declared ghost workers for withdrawing money from Lokoja. A non-stranger knows the proximity between Lokoja and Kogi LGAs and know for a fact that Kogi LGAs has near zero banks. When making withdrawals in nearby town is termed diaspora withdrawal then you know Kogi Workers are in for a hell of time under Yahaya Bello.
Redundancy
While the government kept saying that no genuine staff will be affected by the screening exercises, the report of the last committee shows that Kogi State government is not sincere with that pledge.
In the highly ridiculous report, so many civil servants were asked to proceed on retirement for being on same grade level for too long. The Vice chancellor of Kogi State University, Rector of Kogi State Polytechnic and a great number of top civil servants fell into this category. This is a gross abuse of civil service system.
Police Report
In the last one year, arrests of thousands of Kogi State civil servants have been ordered by the screening committee. Arrested and driven to State Investigation Bureau, confessional statements were taken by policemen from these traumatized workers and they get bailed, if not detained.
Interaction with policemen at the bureau reveals that the police force, after thorough investigations, wrote a report on each of the affected civil servants and forward same to the screening committee.
A policeman, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed that the reports submitted to the last screening committee by the police, based on their investigation, were rejected because the police reports cleared most of the cases referred to the command.
As we speak, same sets of civil servants are being re-arrested and sent to police station for same allegation they have been cleared of earlier. If police clear them again, will this committee accept their reports this time around or wait for the 5th committee to be constituted for complaints and appeals?
The notion that the current committee is programmed to fail is gaining daily acceptance. The decision of the state government to retain the trio of Ladi Ibrahim, Yakubu Okala and one Mr. Ododo, who were main actors in last failed committee, is a deliberate ploy to reproduce the last report that almost consumed the state. Curiously, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has raised alarm over the activities of Ladi Ibrahim, Okala and Ododo in the current screening committee. If government fail to take decisive action on these three persons, observers will continue to doubt the government’s sincerity.
– Shola Oladipo writes from Lokoja.
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