By Austin Ogwuda
...says I have lost count of Public Servants found working fake certificates, age falsification
…gives update on the ongoing staff verification exercise
THE Chairman of the Delta State Civil Service Commission, Lady Roseline Amioku has opened a can of worms – shocking cheating mechanisms adopted by some desperate Civil Servants in the State inorder to remain on the payroll by all means even when they have attained retirement stage.
She disclosed this during an interaction with a team of management staff of the Delta Printing and Publishing Corporation (DPPC) publishers of The Pointer Newspaper, led by the General Manager, Mrs Rosemary Nwaebuni.
Her words: “There was a woman who used her daughter’s certificate and even got promoted with it. When I saw the certificate and looked at her, I said, madam, this isn’t your certificate. Be honest, or you’ll go to jail for falsification and impersonation.
“At first, she denied it, saying she wrote the Primary six Examination herself. I called the CMD (Chief Medical Director) of the hospital and requested Police intervention. She broke down and confessed saying my daughter was offered the job, but she refused it. So, I took it instead. I told her, write your resignation letter. Since you have confessed, I won’t dismiss you. She wrote it (resignation letter) and I endorsed it”.
POINTER: Delta State Civil Service Commission under your watch has been engaged in the verification of civil and public servants. How has the exercise been. What has been your findings?
AMIOKU: Well, it has been a very good experience for me. I have learnt a lot, things I didn’t previously know about the workers in the state. And not just the civil servants, even the public servants. We are gradually discovering a lot about them. And I’m happy that I have been put in this kind of situation, where I can get firsthand information about workers in the State.
We are using eagle eyes to spot a lot of things. You will be surprised at the rate we’re identifying and catching those who falsify their age. You’d be shocked. Some of the affidavits they submit look so genuine, you’d think they’re being honest. But once you dig into the nitty-gritty of their files, especially the confidential files, what they claim and what’s inside are completely different.
Let me give you one example. Someone came here claiming to have been born in 1974. When we calculated the timeline; when he finished primary school, and all that. We told him: You couldn’t have finished primary school at age 9. Why are you claiming this? He started explaining.
My father was a teacher, my mother was a teacher I told him, I’m a teacher too. My children didn’t even finish school at 10 years old. You see, in homes that are enlightened, children start Kindergarten at age 3, and by age 6, they’re in primary school. So, they finish at about 12, minimum. But for those from less privileged or less enlightened backgrounds, they don’t start school early. That’s the truth.
Many didn’t. Back in those day, you couldn’t enter primary school until your hand could touch your ear; some of these workers are over 60 and still in service. So, I told the man, This is not your age. There’s no way you could have graduated from the primary school at 10. This affidavit is not your own. Tell me your real age so I can help you. Eventually, he opened up saying, my sister, honestly, I was born in 1960. I said, So you added 14 years to your age? That’s so unfair. It’s unfair to the government, unfair to your children. You want to stay in service forever? When will your children get to work? You’re blocking their chances.
At the end of the day, I told him, Look, you might not pay back for the years you’ve illegally worked, but go and retire quietly. We’re not here to witch-hunt anyone. What we’re doing is simply making sure people are doing the right thing”.
“A few days ago”, she went on, “we told a woman to bring her Class Register to prove her age. She brought a forged one. Someone had removed a name and inserted hers, photocopied it, and brought it. As soon as I saw it, I said, you’ll go to jail for this. I told her, Tell me the headmaster who gave you this register. I need to sue him now. She started begging, Please, retire me.
”There are a lot of challenges. For example, from an Agency, we caught people printing certificates. We saw three fake certificates a few days ago. They’ve been dismissed. They’re begging now. Incidentally, two of them were recently employed in 2023 with fake certificates”.
POINTER: How many people have the Commission weeded (outright retirement) over fake certificates?
AMIOKU: A lot of them. And we may still find more. All the certificates collected will be verified. As for the false First School Leaving Certificate, we’ve seen so many cases. I’ve lost count of. They are in the 100s. We are compiling reports. Unlike the ACAPELA exercise, where everything was compiled at the end, what we do here is instant judgment. As soon as we find a discrepancy, we remove the person from the payroll. The payroll master and the computer are both with us, right here. So, we do it immediately.
“Another woman, a Cleaner, came with a fake certificate. I told her, this is fake. Why are you working with it?” She denied. I told her, if you don’t admit it’s fake, I’ll hand you over to the police; she panicked and said, Let me go and call the person. Till today, she has not come back. It is assumed that she has absconded, so her name has been removed from the payroll.
POINTER: For civil servants who are handed immediate retirement due to violations of service rules, is there any arrangement in place for the prompt payment of their entitlement benefits?
AMIOKU: Someone who broke service rules? Do you still expect us to help them? Some may have to refund salaries earned illegally. If you knew you were supposed to retire and didn’t and then we pay you retirement benefits. That means we are clapping for you because what you did was right.
Look at this case: Someone born in 1959 was caught still working. He had already been cleared, but I asked to see his file again. I called the Clerk of the House of Assembly and asked for the nominal roll. The man’s DOB was 1959. I asked the Clerk, haven’t you seen this nominal roll? Why is this man still in service, he said, he didn’t pay attention to it. I called the man in and told him, u knew you were born in 1959. What are you still doing in service?” He just looked at me. I told him to carry his things and leave.
There was another case of someone we retired. He claimed he was born in 1969. We told him: You couldn’t have finish from the primary school at the age you claim. We follow the “Rule of 12.” If you have a genuine birth certificate or an old baptismal card, we accept those. I’m a Catholic, so I can tell an authentic Catholic baptismal card. Some are now submitting fake ones, I can tell. This screening exercise has revealed a lot to me.
Has the Commission received any petition since the screening exercise began?
No one has taken us to court, but we are ready if they ever do. We’ve got approval from the highest authority to do this work, so they can’t take us to that same authority. As for the court, we are fully prepared, because what we are doing is clean and genuine.
We are even keeping the files of those we suspect might go to court. Let me give you another example. Someone filled her confidential file with 1967 as her date of birth when she was first employed. But over time, she started using 1969. I asked, Is this your handwriting? Is this your baby photo, she said yes. I said; you were employed as a graduate. Did someone fill this form for you?” She said no. I said, then this is the age we’ll use. This was your innocent age, before you even thought of retirement. Go and swear to an affidavit with this DOB and bring it. She hasn’t returned. But we’ve removed her name from the payroll already.
Regardless of who you are, we’ve taken her name off. You’d be shocked if I told you who she is. I’m waiting to be called, then I’ll go with the file”.
POINTER: How much of the workforce have you screened so far?
AMIOKU: We have covered about 25 per cent of the workforce. Just 25 per cent, yet we’ve gained so much already.
Credit: The Pointer Newspaper
Caption: Management staff of the Delta Printing and Publishing Corporation (DPPC) publishers of The Pointer Newspaper, led by the General Manager, Mrs Rosemary Nwaebuni (third right). On her immediate right is Lady Roseline Amioku
