Plateau sacks 532 workers over certificate forgery

Plateau State Government says it has sacked 532 workers over falsified documents.

Governor Simon Lalong stated this, adding that the action followed findings by 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 secretaries, on Tuesday at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies(NIPSS), Kuru near Jos.

He said that the huge manpower gap existing 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.

The governor said the retreat was organised to build the capacity of permanent secretaries, because they occupy a unique and critical role in administration, and to ensure their diligence as leaders of the workforce.

“It is in realisation 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 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.

Lalong said, “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 urged the participants to be proficient in Information Communication and Technology, while also mentoring all civil servants in utilising ICT for carrying out their day-to-day work.