Gov. Simon Lalong of Plateau State has said that the state government has sacked 532 workers, over falsified documents following findings of investigation of a committee, on the verification and audit of staff strength.

The governor made the disclosure at the closing ceremony of Policy Retreat for the state Permanent Secetaries, on Tuesday at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru near Jos.

He said that the huge manpower gaps that exist in the Plateau State civil service would be addressed at end of committee’s assignment.

“Already, about 532 names have been removed from Government payroll after an investigation using the Bank Verification Number (BVN) system, revealed inconsistencies in their records.

“Some had falsified their ages or tampered with their records. Others could not appear to answer queries on such records.

“We shall ensure that all of them are properly investigated and made to face appropriate sanctions. This exercise will be a continuous one,” he said.

He said the retreat was organised to build the capacity of Permanent Secetaries, because they occupied a unique and critical role in administration, and to ensure their diligence as leaders of the workforce.

“It is in realization of the fact that you need to invigorate your capacity for creativity, productivity and also strengthen ability for effective and robust service delivery that I approved for this policy retreat to hold,

He said in order for them to effectively carry out their responsibility, their skills and competencies must be updated for understanding and managing change, reforms and new thinking, to align with the ethical values of the state government’s vision.

“This policy retreat was also carefully planned to expand your horizon through strategic thinking, improved competencies, and development of innovative ways, especially in this era of COVID-19 where many things have been affected.

“We are today facing continuous decline in revenue from Federal Accounts Allocation Committee, which makes it very necessary to generate more revenue internally to meet the yearnings of the people.

“This means that we must prioritise spending on areas that will yield revenues in all our Ministries Department and Agencies, and also block leakages in the system.

“You have a very crucial role to play in this regard and you cannot afford to fail,” he said.

He urged the participants to be proficient in Information Communication and Technology (ICT), while also mentoring all civil servants in utilizing ICT for carrying out their day-to-day schedules.

The governor said his administration was committed to training civil servants to facilitate update of their ICT skills, saying it would facilitate the implementation of e-governance.

He warned that he would not tolerate promotion of ethnicity, religion or politicising the civil service, pointing out that the act could ruin governance, truncate service delivery, professionalism and competence.

Lalong said that the state government would build a more robust relationship with the organised labour, to ensure that the existing industrial harmony is fortified.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Jos Business School, Dr. Ezekiel Gomos, said the two day training comprised building their capacities on leadership imperatives and ethical issues.

Gomos, who is also the chairman, Plateau State Economic Advisory Council, said top government officials shared with participants, tools and skills such as public financial management strategies, and procuremet laws and processes.
to make them more effective as permanent secetaries.

In his remarks, the Head of the state civil service, Mr Sunday Hyat, said that Permanent Secetaries play vital role in the implementation of policies.

Hyat said the responsibility required continous update of skills and competencies on policy and programme implementation, to discharge the responsibility effectively.

He charged them to improve service delivery in their various ministries, departments and agencies to align with ethical values and policy thrust of the state government.(NAN)

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