I am not insensitive to workers’ plight —Bello

Kogi State governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, on Monday, said his government was not insensitive to the plight of civil servants following the screening to clean the staff list of government.
Apart from this, the governor also inaugurated a 32-man staff screening complain and appeal committee to look into complaints arising from the staff screening exercise embarked upon by the government.
The committee is expected to scrutinise the cases of workers whose names appeared on unclear list and those whose names did not appear in either cleared or uncleared list of the staff screening reviewed committee.
Inaugurating the committee, the governor also reiterated that no genuine worker or pensioner of the state would be shortchanged  in the effort of the government to reform the civil service.
Bello, however, charged the committee to do a thorough job and submit a comprehensive report to him within six weeks
The governor regretted the inconvenience the exercise might have posed to the workers, noting that it was  expedient to reform the civil service that is the engine room of government.
According to him: “The civil service is known to be an  engine room of any government and where the engine is not effective as a result of existing  anomalies, government will not be able to function properly and that is what we want to address in the interest of the state and its people. The state had stagnated for too long and we have to change it for better.
“We are desirous of ensuring that nobody is being shortchanged in the process of the civil service reformation, that is why we have constituted this committee to attend to genuine complaints with a view to addressing them.”
In her remark, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG),Dr Folashade Ayoade, said the appeal committee would be the end of the staff screening exercise, assuring that ghost workers and unintended beneficiaries could never resurrect again in the state.
Also in his remark, the chairman of the committee and Director of Studies,  Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Mr John Ayuba, assured that the committee would ensure a credible job.

The membership of the 32-man committee was, however ,drawn from public service, organised labour, civil society organisations and all other relevant stakeholders within and out side the state.