The Niger State Government is allegedly investigating cases
of age falsification involving the top officials of the state civil service, media has learnt.
Investigations revealed that the state Governor,
Abubakar Sani Bello, personally gave the directive for the investigation into
the matter at an executive council meetings held in Minna before the end of his
first tenure in office.
Similarly, the governor was also said to have
directed that names of children, wives and relations of some the top civil
servants said to be on the government payrolls but are not in the employment of
the government, be flushed out from the salary payment vouchers in addition to
asking that those involved should be identified and punished according to the
law.
The governor’s directive, it was gathered, followed
series of verbal and written petitions by some civil servants alleging that
some of their bosses were involved in changing of their dates of births
purposely to make them remain in the service beyond the mandatory periods.
In one of the petitions, a copy of which was in
possession of some journalists it was alleged that most of those affected were
permanent secretaries and senior directors in the ministries departments and
agencies (MDAs).
As a result of the directive of the governor, some directors
of administration were mandated to carry out the investigations which have
already started revealing serious fraud by some permanent secretaries.
According to findings, four permanent secretaries
have been caught in the mess leading to two of them being forced to leave the
service when evidence showed they doctored their ages.
One of the affected permanent secretaries, it was also
learnt, had dragged the state government before the National Industrial Court, challenging
what he described as his "premature retirement from service."
Investigations also revealed that the third
permanent secretary was still battling with the state government, claiming that
the civil service had given him a notification to remain in service up to next
year whereas he was supposed to have exited the service last year going by the
date of birth in his file.
Competent sources at the office of the Head of Service
(HoS) and the Civil Service Commission said the notification claimed by the
embattled permanent secretary was fraudulently gotten.
One of the sources asked: "How can a senior
civil servant of that calibre wake up after 34 years in service to want to
change his date of birth? Something must be wrong."
When contacted the acting HoS, Alhaji
Shuaibu Adamu, he directed our correspondent to the chairman of the Civil
Service Commission, who he said: ‘Is in the best position to speak on the
issue.’
According to Adamu, the offence was allegedly
committed when he was a junior officer, therefore, the Civil Service Commission
should handle the matter.
The office of the HoS confirmed that one of the
permanent secretaries had dragged the state government to the National
Industrial Court while a third had taken the matter in good fate.
The fourth permanent secretary, it was learnt, was
yet to respond to a query issued to him.
It was also learnt that a file containing not less
than 400 names, mostly ghost workers said to be wives, children and other
relations of the top civil servants, is already in the office of the HoS for
investigation.
However, the Chairman of the Civil Service
Commission, Alhaji Shehu Galadima, who said he had had about the allegation
when contacted, referred journalists to the office of the HoS, saying investigations
into the matter should start from the office of the head of service and
terminate here (at the commission).
Galadima, however, said emphatically that the
commission did not grant any approval for any permanent secretary to change his
or her date of birth as claimed by one of the permanent secretaries
It was learnt that an official report on the matter
would soon be forwarded to the governor.
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