From Maryam Hassan, Kano
Kano state government has inaugurated 22-man committee for verification of 10,800 civil servants employed by the immediate past administration.
PEOPLES DAILY recalls that the Immediate past administration conducted the last minute recruitment, promoting the present government to investigate the exercise as it suspects anomalies.
Inaugurating the committee in his office yesterday, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr Abdullahi Baffa Bichi, said “Recall that the present Administration had after its inauguration, inherited a number of challenges from the immediate past administration that currently have spillover effects on the state’s polity, which necessitated initiating measures aimed at addressing them.
“Such challenges include unwarranted deductions of salaries and pensions of civil servants and pensioners respectively, non-evacuation of refuse that littered nooks and crannies of the State, abandoned healthcare and emergency services, non-supply of diesel to support the street lights in the metropolis and so on.
“Other issue, which informed our gathering here was the last minute employment of over 10,000 Civil Servants without following the laid down rules and regulations governing employment into the civil service.
“Government viewed this as an anomaly and therefore, resolved to set up a committee to study and review the entire process, with a view to determining whether or not the employment process was informed by the expressed manpower need and requirement of the affected MDAS or are just based on certain primordial considerations suggesting nepotism as alleged;
“Other mandates assigned to the committee include compiling the list of the already employed staff as well as establish the financial implications on State finances and ascertain whether budgetary provisions were adhered to followed:
“Identify those already enlisted into the state payroll, sequel to their recruitment cum those that are yet to receive appointment letters following the stoppage of the exercise by the present Government;
“Government expects you to use your wealth of experience to assiduously execute this assignment and submit report within two weeks from this date of inauguration.”
The Committee headed by the Chairman of the state Civil Service Commission, Alhaji Umar Shehu Minjibir, was given three weeks to complete their assignment.
Bichi also charged the committee to use their experience to give the government advices on the way forward as the state government would welcome any recommendations by the committee.
In his response, Chairman of the Committee said, “certainly, on behalf of the members of the Committee, I will like to assure you (SSG) and through you, the state Governor, His Excellency, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, that we have accepted to serve in this Committee, and we will do our best.
“I want to assure you also that we are going to do justice to those civil servants that were employed doing the last lap of the immediate-past administration, and that we will do our assignment without fear or favor.
” I assure the SSG and the governor that we will do this assignment within the stipulated time. We are not going to disappoint you. Like I said, we will look at both sides, the government side, and the side of those civil servants who were employed by the immediate-past administration.”