By Dauda R Pam Maiduguri
Borno State Governor, Professor Babagaba Umara Zulum, has inaugurated committees on verification and biometric data capture of local government staff and Primary school teachers in the state.
Inaugurating the two committees at the Government House, Maiduguri Prof. Zulum said: “The state salary bill for the state and local government staff stood at N3.5 billion, hence the need for the biometric verification to ascertain the actual number of staff.”
He said “local government system used to be the nexus of various outstanding achievements and an embodiment of effective service delivery at the local government level, however, over the past years dynamics and interplay of number of sociopolitical factors and some compelling institutional imperatives have led to the gradual erosion of its overall performance”.
” The verification and Biometric exercise are not intended to witch hunt anybody and should not be construed as such.it is rather an impeccable assessment of the work force at the local government level, specifically designed to arrive at the actual number of staff in any particular local government area. We need not to stop anybody’s salary during the verification exercise. I urge you to be fair and just to all”, the Governor said.
The committee is to ascertain the actual number of staff in the payroll of the each local government, to verify the correct vertical and horizontal placement of each staff in respect of their aptitude scheme of service and salary scale, to determine the total number of staff employed by each local government from 2,000 to date and whether or not such employment were properly authorized, among others.
He said only qualified teachers will be allow to be in the payroll of the state, as gone are the days where senior public servants, political office holders and traditional rulers will put the names if unqualified teachers in the payroll of the local. Government.
He further said “intact, we have note reached a point whereby some local government have to be assisted with extra funds just to meet their personnel cost. This kind if situation I’d unacceptable as it is financially unviable SNF administratively untenable”.
The committee is to ascretain the actual number of staff in the payroll of the each local government, to verify the correct vertical and horizontal placement if each staff in respect of their aptitude of service and salary scale, to determine the total number of staff employed by each local government from 2000 to date and whether or not such employment, were properly authorised among others.
He said only qualified teachers will be allow to be in the payool of the state, as gone are the days where senior public servants, political office holders and traditional rulers will put the names if unqualified teachers in the payroll of the local government.
Speaking on behalf of the committee members, its Chairman, Sen. Kaka Mallam Yale, thanked the Governor for finding them worthy to serve in the committee.
“We will not fail you, we share in your belief and commitment to salvage the local government area. This step was borne out of your desire to put the local government on the right track,” Senator Yale added.
Ends
