The governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, has sacked 532 workers over falsified documents following findings of an investigation of a committee on the verification and audit of staff strength.

The governor made the disclosure at the closing ceremony of a policy retreat for the state’s permanent secretaries on Tuesday at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru near Jos.

He said that the huge manpower gaps that exist in the Plateau state civil service would be addressed at end of the committee’s assignment.

“Already, about 532 names have been removed from the government’s 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.

He 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.

He said in order for them 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.

“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 a 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 (MDAs), 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 said.

He urged the participants to be proficient in Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), while also mentoring all civil servants in utilizing ICT for carrying out their day-to-day schedules.

He warned that he would not tolerate promotion of ethnicity, religion or politicising the civil service, pointing out that the act could ruin governance, truncate service delivery, professionalism and competence.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of the Jos Business School, Ezekiel Gomos, said the two-day training comprised building their capacities on leadership imperatives and ethical issues.

In his remarks, the head of the state civil service, Sunday Hyat, said that permanent secretaries play a vital role in the implementation of policies.

Mr Hyat said the responsibility required continuous update of skills and competencies on policy and programme implementation to enable them to discharge the responsibility effectively.

He charged them to improve service delivery in their various MDAs to align with the ethical values and policy thrust of the state government.

(NAN)