Ondo State Government on Tuesday warned civil servants against involvement in job racketeering, declaring that any officer found conniving with fraudsters to extort job seekers would face severe sanctions.

The State Head of Service (HoS), Mr. Bayo Philip, gave the warning during a press conference to herald the 2025 Public Service Week, stressed that anyone found culpable will face the full weight of disciplinary action.

The HoS revealed that some government officials were indicated in the state in the recent teachers recruitment exercise in the state, saying they had been disciplined for their roles in the recruitment scandal that rocked the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

According to him, during investigation into the employment racketeering, it was discovered that some fraudsters opened consultancy offices disguising to be working for the state government.

He stated that many unsuspecting applicants were defrauded as the fake officials had no link with the state government.

He said: “Job racketeering is offensive. We had some stunning revelations during the investigation in to the job racketeering that happened during SUBEB recruitment of teachers.

“Some people opened consultancy offices criminally recruiting on behalf of the state government.

Somebody collected about N3m from some unsuspecting applicants and thereafter looking for some government officials to connive with to secure employments for their victims.

“But I want to state that any civil servant that gets involved in such criminal act would be fired. Some people have been relived of their jobs over the job racketeering at SUBEB.

“We will not gloss over that kind of crime. We will visit the full weight of our sanctions on them. The system does not tolerate this.”

The HoS who commended Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa for his workers-friendly policies, noted that the administration has maintained a steady promotion process and welfare improvement for civil servants.

He revealed that all officers due for promotion in 2025 had already received their letters, while a total of 3,089 mainstream officers and 1,832 teaching staff were promoted during the year.

“In 2025, 3,089 mainstream officers were promoted, while 1,832 were promoted in the teaching sector(Primary and Secondary) while all the parastatals of government have followed suit.

“Governor Aiyedatiwa’s administration has employed close to 3,000 mainstream officers in 2025, with similar progress across all parastatals,” he said.

Speaking on activities lined up for the Public Service Week, Philip said a health walk would be held on Wednesday, beginning from Adegbemile Cultural Centre at 7:00 a.m, ending at the Akure Township Stadium, followed by a novelty football match between the Mainstream Service and Local Government teams.

On Thursday, a Public Service Lecture and Interactive Session would take place at The Dome, where serving officers would engage former Heads of Service and Permanent Secretaries to share experiences and strengthen institutional knowledge.

The week-long celebration will continue with Jumat Service at the Government House Mosque on Friday and a Thanksgiving Service at the Government House Chapel on Sunday.

Philip, who is the 16th Head of Service in Ondo State, said the Public Service Week is designed to celebrate excellence and uphold professionalism within the state’s workforce. (Nigerian Tribune)