Bayelsa Government Advises Against Politicization Of Reforms

…urges citizens to support efforts to cleanse the public service

By Pat PA Okon
                                                           
The Bayelsa State Government has warned against the politicization of the ongoing implementation of public sector reforms in the state.

The Special Adviser to the Governor Media Relations, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, said in a statement on Friday that the reforms were designed to correct the anomalous situation in the public sector and to reposition it for improved productivity.

Soriwei said that the insinuations in some quarters that the reforms were meant to inflict hardship on the good people of Bayelsa was a failed attempt at mischief which should be discountenanced by all.

The Governor’s Aide called on all Bayelsans to support the ongoing efforts of the governor to address the nagging issue of the payroll fraud and the over- bloated wage bill of the state irrespective of political affiliations.

He stressed that the bold efforts of the State Governor, the Honourable Henry Seriake Dickson, to free Bayelsa from the scourge of payroll fraudsters, age falsfiers, certificate forgers, beneficiaries of multiple employments and other illegal acts should be encouraged.

He argued that while the immediate results of the reforms might appear to be painful to a few individuals benefitting from the illegality and ingrained sharp practices, the larger Bayelsa society would have every cause to the thankful to the Governor.

Soriwei noted that Bayelsa was not the only state where such corrective measures actions designed to improve the public service had been undertaken.

According to him, the Federal Government removed 50,000 ghost workers from the payroll and placed 62,000 others under investigation in an exercise that reportedly saved N208 billion for the government.

Soriwei also said that Kaduna State sacked 36, 000 workers comprising 22,000 teachers, 4000 local government employees, and 3000 stare workers, traditional rulers and others.

He stated father that similar verification exercises had led to the removal of unqualified personnel from the payrol in Kogi, (1774 workers) and in over 1000 in Benue which are all states under the control of the All Progressives Congress.

The Governor’s aide said that the reforms were being being implemented with human face as shown by the decision of the government to retain all teachers and to set up a committees to look into all cases of disengagement’s with a view to ensuring the protection of genuine workers.

He said that the decision of the management of the NDU to retire some non academic staff should not be viewed as an attempt to inflict hardship on the people.

He added that no institution would survive with a workforce of 2300 non academic staff and 800 academic staff as we have in the NDU.