Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir, the governor of Bauchi State on Tuesday swore-in 12 newly appointed permanent secretaries, urging them to be wary of poor monitoring and supervision, the trap causing low productivity in the civil service.
The governor urged the new appointees to demonstrate their competence and justify their appointments by effectively and efficiently discharging their duties as Permanent Secretaries.
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Bala said: Misconduct and declining productivity in the civil service are due to a lack of proper monitoring and supervision. The Annual Performance Evaluation Report (APER) which is supposed to be the barometer for gauging the conduct and performance of civil servants is being flagrantly abused to the extent that it has become a mere formality done only for promotion without consideration for the actual performance or conduct of the officers reported upon.
“It is worrisome that Heads of Personnel of the various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies could not even care to ensure that APERS is administered to their staff regularly. There are instances where the APERS are administered in arrears of two to three or more years. Even where the APERS are administered, there are also instances where habitual truants, indolent, or inefficient officers are rated favorably despite their glaring shortcomings.
“Consequently, civil servants no longer earn their promotion, but they simply wait to attain the minimum number of years for promotion to the next grade level, regardless of their conduct or performance. This ignoble practice must stop. The Head of Civil Service and Special Adviser on Civil Service are hereby directed to take appropriate action to address the anomaly.”
According to the governor, the 12 new Permanent Secretaries have all passed examinations before being appointed and their appointment is in consideration of their satisfactory conduct and performance as Directors.
“As civil servants, the Permanent Secretaries should uphold the culture of neutrality and loyalty to the government of the day. Under no circumstance should they involve themselves in partisan politics. As accounting officers of their Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, they should live above the board and make accountability and transparency their watchwords. They should resist the temptation to misappropriate public funds or engage in activities capable of bringing the government into disrepute,” Bala said.
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He further said that his administration has resolved to restore sanity to the civil service to get the State back on track, thereby putting a stop to the syndrome of business as usual, and promised that the state government would not hesitate to invoke the full wrath of public service rules on any civil servant, including Permanent Secretaries, found wanting in the discharge of his or her duties.
Speaking on behalf of the newly appointed permanent secretaries, Ahmed Ali Ranga, secretary of political research and economic affairs, office of the Secretary to the State Government thank the governor for the appointment to different ministries across the state.
He promised that they would work hard for the development of the good people of Bauchi State.
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