Reginald Bayoko, Delta’s head of service, says the state government will maintain the culture of disciplining errant civil servants internally without recourse.

Mr Bayoko said this on Thursday when the executives and members of the Asaba Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) visited him in Asaba.

Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, on Monday, suspended the commissioner for agriculture, Perez Omoun, permanent secretary Ben Agamah, and two other principal officers.

He said the suspension was for an alleged misappropriation of funds allotted for agricultural programmes.

Mr Bayoko said Delta’s civil service leadership would continue to carry out disciplinary actions on civil servants involved in sharp practices to ensure sanity.

He said what happened to workers at the agriculture ministry was not the first to be handled by the state government.

He said the civil service leadership would not condone any form of indiscipline from the workforce.

Mr Bayoko said, “Such a situation has always been there. The difference in this case is that it was placed in the media before it got to the civil service leadership. We have dealt with such instances on several occasions, and those involved faced disciplinary action.”

While backing the governor’s decision, the HoS said the civil service has become accustomed to handling such issues behind closed doors without prejudice or favour.

On petrol subsidy removal, Bayoko said that the state government would continue to seek ways of cushioning the effects on civil servants in Delta.

According to him, the Delta government, under the leadership of Mr Oborevwori, has been in the lead in addressing issues of workers’ welfare by prompt payment of salaries and outstanding arrears and prompt promotion of workers.

(NAN)