Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State has sworn in 12 new Permanent Secretaries into the state civil service.
He said his administration had adopted a template for appointments to the top level of the civil service, based on merit, experience, character, and leadership qualities.
Governor Yahaya said the appointment of the 12 Permanent Secretaries followed the adoption of a new process as criteria for the promotion of transparency, equity, accountability, as well as inclusiveness.
He said each local government now had at least two Permanent Secretaries in the state service.
The Gombe State Governor said the event signified the continuing efforts of his government to reform the Gombe State Civil Service and place it in a good position to be a true engine room of government.
While congratulating the newly sworn-in Permanent Secretaries, Governor Yahaya charged them to work closely and harmoniously with their Commissioners and other Principal Officers of the government to achieve the objectives of his administration.
“I expect that you will provide good and professional leadership to staff and ensure that each of them has clearly defined duties. In all your actions, you must be guided by the oath of office you have just taken; and, the civil service rules and regulations. As accounting officers, you must guard and prudently use public funds entrusted to you. I will accept nothing less than your loyalty and commitment to the job. The Head of the Civil Service will apprise me of your performance through periodic evaluation reports,” said Governor Yahaya.
He said the Head of the Civil Service would in the coming days conduct an induction workshop to prepare them for the tasks ahead, encouraging them to take the workshop very seriously, because the assessment of their participation and engagement may be used to determine their individual postings.
“To ensure the sustainability of the new procedure for appointing Permanent Secretaries, the Head of the Civil Service will develop and deploy a robust succession plan for implementation service-wide,” said Governor Yahaya.
He announced the setting up of a committee to review the current financial status of each Local Government in order to settle the backlog of outstanding gratuities and provide succour to the retired civil servants.
He gave the retired civil servants assurances of his administration’s commitment to their welfare.
“As mentioned earlier, we also put in place a strategy for the liquidation of outstanding gratuities with funds allocated every month to clear the arrears. So far, the strategy is working but because of the very dire financial situation, it will take sometimes to achieve the desired objective. This was why I recently set up a high-level committee to find ways to improve the financial circumstances of the government and in particular, suggest ways to enable the government clear once and for all, the backlog of gratuities and to ensure that such a situation does not occur in the future,” Governor Yahaya said.
Expressing their vote of thanks on behalf of the newly sworn-in Permanent Secretaries, Mr. Mohammed Kolo Bajoga, thanked the governor and government for the opportunity given to them to serve in his administration and promised to deliver their responsibility with all commitment, as well as support the Governor Yahaya led administration.
