The Gombe State Government has begun a comprehensive physical verification exercise to update personnel records and create a database for civil servants.

At the inauguration in Gombe on Wednesday, the Chairperson of the State Civil Service Commission, Rabi Jimeta, said the exercise was not aimed at retrenching workers.

Ms Jimeta noted that the absence of verified personnel records had hindered effective manpower planning and management across the state’s civil service.

 She said about 7,000 workers would be verified and their data updated during the exercise.

 According to her, the initiative will address challenges affecting record keeping in the state’s civil service system.

 She listed the problems to include ghost workers, overstaying in service, missing documents, and unaccounted personnel on secondment or leave of absence.

 Ms Jimeta said the exercise would enhance resource management, improve productivity, and strengthen service delivery across the public sector.

 She explained that it would also guide future recruitment and succession planning within the state’s workforce.

 “The aim is to determine the actual number and status of existing directorates and their staffing composition across all cadres,” she said.

 The chairperson said the eight-week exercise would help maintain a secure, efficient digital database for civil servants and improve access to information.

 According to her, the initiative forms part of Governor Inuwa Yahaya’s reform to make the civil service digital and less dependent on paper records.

 She said the reform would promote transparency, ensure faster service delivery, and provide an online database for effective government planning.

Ms Jimeta added that civil servants would eventually be captured, except those in the judiciary, teaching, and medical sectors.

She explained that those categories were under other government arms but would be verified later.

Mr Jimeta urged civil servants to cooperate fully with the government to achieve a digitised and transparent system.

 The state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Yusuf Aish-Bello, said the union opposed illegality in the civil service.

Mr Aish-Bello said the union was monitoring the process to ensure transparency and protect workers’ rights.

 “Workers with genuine records have nothing to fear,” he said, adding that any worker involved in fraud would not be defended.

(NAN)