By Austin Ogwuda
BARELY two weeks after over 200 Civil Servants in Delta State were disengaged as a result of age falsification and forged certificates, the State Head of Service (HoS), Dr. Minimim Oseji has called for proper orientation in addressing the age falsification malady among other vices.
She stated while speaking at a one-day workshop on ‘Understanding the MORE Agenda in Policy Implementation’ for civil servants on Salary Grade Level (SGL) 15 – 17 in the Delta State Civil Service organized by the Office of the Senior Policy Adviser to the Governor in Asaba, Wednesday.
Dr. Oseji made it clear that policy implementation in terms of human capital development should not be limited to just training and retraining of officials but called for ways “to evaluate such training in order to ensure that issues of attitudinal change, absenteeism, ghost workers, age falsification, as well as lateness to work by public servants are addressed and the training impactful”.
In a welcome address, the Senior Policy Adviser to the Governor, Rt. Hon. Chief Funkekeme Solomon, said understanding the M.0.R.E. Agenda in policy implementation underscored the importance of adopting a collective approach to policy formulation and implementation with the objective of achieving desired results.
According to him, “While the essence of government lies in the structures and institutions that exercise authority and make decisions for a society, governance encompasses the processes and practices through which those decisions are made and implemented”.
Declaring the Workshop open, the State Deputy Governor, Sir Monday Onyeme told the participants that “Your presence here is not enough; I urge you to pay close attention to the lectures; you are expected not only to acquire new knowledge but to apply it in ways that enhance government operations and service delivery.
“As participants, you should be ambassadors of this knowledge by sharing it with your colleagues.
I encourage you to participate actively and become true agents of the MORE Agenda, working together to give Deltans more”, he stated.
Recall that following screening exercise carried out by the Chairman of Delta State Civil Service Commission, who doubled as the Chairman of the State Screening Committee, Chief Roseline Amioku disclosed that over 200 Delta State Civil Servants were disengaged as a result of age falsification and working with forged credentials.
Said she, “A lot of people are blowing whistle to us. We decided to act swiftly by investigating and look at the files of civil servants. We found out that hundreds of civil servants who are supposed to have retired five years ago are still in service, receiving salary.
“So, it was based on this that the Delta State Civil Service Commission decided that the screening exercise was worth undertaking. Many of them reduced their age to the extent that their own children are now senior to them.
”Over two hundred civil servants have been retired over age falsification already. And we have just started. We have not done fifty per cent of the exercise which is going to continue till next year. We are screening the entire workforce of Delta State”, she stated.
