GOV. AKPABIO CALLS FOR OVERHAULING OF LOCAL GOVT. SYSTEM

Godswill Akpabio

Akwa Ibom Governor, Chief Godswill O. Akpabio has ordered for a comprehensive overhauling of the local government councils in the state to enhance effective and virile system.

Chief Akpabio, who gave the order when the Chairman and members of Akwa Ibom Local Government Service Commission paid him a courtesy visit in Government House, Uyo, directed termination of temporary appointments of local government employees illegally made by councils’ chairmen between 2007 and 2008 without a written approval or made in contravention of the commission’s approval.

He lamented the daunting problems facing the local government councils, citing such staff as heads of personnel, treasurers and works officers, among others being seen as demigods, and called for total re-organisation of the system, adding “Having served many years in the system, such people have helped to compromise the system”.

The governor cited fraudulent payment of salary to some junior staff as senior ones and connivance between the local government commissioners and councils’ chairmen to commit what he described as employee dumping a situation where the commission could transfer about 150 staff to a particular local council having 100 to cause over-bloating of the council’s wage only to pull out some staff from that council after the commissioner concerned has been settled to another.

Chief Akpabio said such fraudulent act was counter-productive to the council’s lean financial resources thereby affecting effective planning and execution of capital projects, noting “We cannot turn the local government into a system of salary payment alone otherwise the people would not enjoy the dividends of democracy”.

“Local government council is the last hope of the common man and should do asphalt on local roads and slippery hills, open up roads leading to farmlands councils as well as provide water and electricity to rural communities”, he remarked.

On illegal employment of staff by the councils’ chairmen, Chief Akpabio directed the commission to undertake immediate staff auditing to remove ghost workers, advising the commission to send a reasonable, affordable proposal to him for approval to enable it to carry out a biometric method of auditing.

Commenting on transfer of service, the governor said there were procedures to be followed by local government employees wishing to join the state civil service depending on available vacancies and assured of government’s readiness to absorb such willing staff.

Speaking on staff who tender two birth certificates, Chief Akpabio advised the commission to take a critical look at the anomaly and accordingly retire erring staff from service for showing intent to commit fraud. On the recommendation to reshuffle some staff after five years, he directed them to ensure every cadre of senior staff is affected, adding “There should be no sacred cow in the system”.

The Chairman of the state local government service commission, Mr. Godwin Afangide thanked the governor for the confidence reposed in appointing them to such high positions, and promised to discharge their assignments creditably.

Mr. Afangide said they had divided the 31 local government areas into four departments to be headed by the four commissioners, stopped employment of new staff, set up Manpower Review Committee while a commissioner is to service as an observer at any Junior Staff Management Committee presided over by Head of Personnel.

He disclosed that the councils’ staff strength rose from 11,561 in 2007 to 14,860 in 2008 and attributed the sudden rise to the handiwork of out-gone councils’ bosses.

The commission’s boss further revealed the challenges facing them to include non-promotion of more than 1,000 staff, inadequate office accommodation, non-functional vehicle, unrealistic and over-bloated manpower leading to huge wage bill, ghost workers, payroll manipulation and fraud.

Other challenges are lack of vacancy for staff advancement, unreliable database due to manipulation, double birth certificates, recommendation for cashiers, internal auditors and payroll heads to remain for five years and review of staff employed from 2006 to 2008.