Gov Yahaya swears in the newly appointed two Special Advisers, 12 Permanent Secretaries in Gombe
By Ben Ngwakwe, Gombe
Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Yahaya, on Monday revealed that over 21 billion Naira has remained unpaid to both the State and Local Government retirees.
He stated that the administration was able to settle 2014 and 2015 outstanding gratuities totalling 3.2 billion.
Speaking at the swearing in ceremony of newly appointed two Special Advisers and 12 Permanent Secretaries on Monday at the Banquet Hall Gombe, the Governor said that the efforts are underway to settle the 2016 outstanding gratuity before the end of the year 2022.
According to the Governor, his administration had intended to pay the 2017 balances by the first quarter of 2023.
Yahaya disclosed that his administration inherited a moribund civil service, “We met a dysfunctional service that had a bloated structure, lacking in the ability to perform its constitutional responsibility of service delivery.”
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He said, “The Civil Servants lacked direction, motivation and the will to perform. There was also palpable fear for the future as entitlements upon retirement such as gratuity were not forthcoming”.
“As for the Local Governments, this administration inherited a backlog of gratuities dating as far back as 2012. In order to bring succour to these retirees a committee has been constituted to review the current financial status of each Local Government with a view to settling the backlog. It was therefore very evident that for our government which came in with strong determination to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people, through efficient, effective and timely service delivery, reforming the civil service must be top priority. To underscore our determination to resurrect and reform the State Civil Service, we have so far undertaken many actions.”
Some of measures taken by state Government to correct anomalies was the restructuring of the Government which now has 21 Ministries from the 27 inherited and this has reduced duplication of responsibilities and cost of governance.
He said, “Furthermore, the creation of the State Bureau of Public Service Reforms located in the Governor’s Office and the State Council on Reform has been set up, so as to guide the reform processes.
“The introduction of staff verification and audit to block leakages in the payroll and
implementation of the N30,000 new minimum wage for workers in the State Service were under taken by our administration to ensure efficient and effective service delivery.”
According to him, the ceremony for the swearing into office of 12 new Permanent Secretaries are a momentous and joyous event which also signified the continuing efforts of the government to reform the Gombe State Civil Service and place it in a good stead to truly be the engine room of government.
Also, the appointment of the 12 Permanent Secretaries followed the adoption of a new process and procedure and It was a departure from the past where Permanent Secretaries were appointed haphazardly.
“In some instances, such appointments were doled out as parting gifts to retiring and retired officers. In the case of the latter, appointment letters were scandalously backdated. And this was done with no consideration to the financial implications of such actions. Now, and for the first time, we have in place, a template for appointments into the top echelon of the civil service. It has merit, experience, character and leadership qualities as determinants.
” In addition, it promotes transparency, equity, accountability, as well as inclusiveness. Each and every Local Government now has at least two Permanent Secretaries in the state service,” the Governor added.
While congratulating the newly sworn- in Permanent Secretaries that passed through a strenuous process including well-organised preparatory capacity building workshop, written and oral examinations and were adjudged the best of the lot, the Governor charged them to work closely and harmoniously with the Commissioners and other Principal Officers of the government in order to achieve our objectives.
Yahaya added, “I expect that you will provide good and professional leadership to staff and ensure that each of them has clearly defined duties. In all your actions, you must be guided by the oath of office you have just taken; and, the civil service rules and regulations. As accounting officers, you must guard and prudently use public funds entrusted to you. I will accept nothing less than your loyalty and commitment to the job. The Head of the Civil Service will apprise me of your performance through periodic evaluation reports.
“In the coming days, the Head of the Civil Service will conduct an induction workshop to prepare you for the tasks ahead. Take the workshop very seriously as assessment of your participation and engagement may be used to determine your individual posting. To ensure the sustainability of the new procedure for appointing Permanent Secretaries, the Head of the Civil Service will develop and deploy a robust succession plan for implementation service wide.
“we also put in place a strategy for the liquidation of outstanding gratuities with funds allocated every month to clear the arrears. So far, the strategy is working but because of the very dire financial situation, it will take sometimes to achieve the desired objective.
“This was why I recently set up a high level committee to find ways to improve the financial circumstances of government and in particular, suggest ways to enable the government clear once and for all, the backlog of gratuities and to ensure that such a situation does not occur in the future.”
Responding on behalf of the newly inaugurated Permanent Secretaries, Mohammed Bajoga, expressed appreciation to the Governor Yahaya, for the appointments and promised to deliver on their constitutional responsibilities.
He said, “We will not fail the Government for the confidence reposed in us.”
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