We can’t employ because ghost workers have taken the job spaces – Gov Bala

Samuel Luka, Bauchi

Bauchi state Governor, Bala Mohammed has disclosed that the state is finding it difficult to employ because ghost workers have taken the job spaces.

The Governor stated this Friday while speaking at the closing ceremony of a retreat organized for newly appointed Commissioners, Special Advisers, local government Caretaker Committee chairmen, special advisers and permanent secretaries held at the state Hajj Camp.

The Governor also expressed worry over increasing wage bill despite retirement of many civil servants over the years without being replaced by the system.

He regretted that despite migration of retired civil servants to pension platforms the nominal roll keeps on increasing.

“Of course somebody has just spoken about the nominal roll, the nominal roll is developed by the service, we the Politicians are frustrated, yesterday somebody talked about stress, anytime I see the Accountant General, it stresses me, even when he was talking he was stressing me because I didn’t understand what he was saying, people are retiring, they are migrating to pension platforms but my salaries, the portfolio is increasing, and we are not employing and nobody will come and give me any explanation as to what is happening”, the Governor said.

Bala who tasked the Commissioners as drivers of the nominal roll to lift up to expectations, added that there was the urgent need to ensure tangible and measurable savings from the salary portfolio to enable the system employ more workers.

He said his government had before coming on board, hinted that it will employ over ten thousand people.

According to him, the service lacks technical people, the engineers, the accountants as well as the administrative officers.

“They are all gone, even our extension workers are not there, how do we progress, our education system is producing graduates and we are not absorbing them, our system is very poor and yet we sit here and delude and deceive ourselves, paying six to seven billion Naira monthly while not employing”, the governor decried.

Governor Bala further said, “some people are earning what they don’t work for, period, and we cannot develop the data, so, it’s a challenge”.

Bala who stressed the need for a change of mindset towards public service, regretted that people believe they will sit down in their offices and get double salary.

“We have to change mindset, mindset of all of us. People believe that they will sit down in their offices and get double salary or in their local government and input people that will be collecting money or in our emirate councils or our local councils, we have to make the change because this is Haram.

The Governor who reminded that been Muslims or christians, receiving salaries without working for it is Haram (forbidden), said that could be the reason why such people are not progressing.

“It is so, because we are all living on Haram, educating our children on Haram, living above our means”, the Governor insisted.

The Governor while observing that the system is rotten with people trying to eat what they cannot afford, said many people don’t take their children to government schools despite government’s huge investment.

“How many of us are taking our children to government schools, even though they have teachers, they have everything, in some primary schools you don’t even have the teachers on reality checks but on paper you have so many of them, so we have to change”, he added.

While stressing that the state primary health agency has to work, Bala Mohammed said over one thousand primary health centers have been built in partnership with development partners.

He however, observed that hospital rooms do not make a clinic without the human capital, adding that the state cannot employ because ghost workers have taken the job spaces.

“I am always frustrated, we want to employ, pre-service employment of Doctors, nurses and midwives, when we were growing, this is how it was done, seamless migration after graduation, at least you will get the trained nurse in a PHC, we don’t have them anymore, we have revolving fund that we established when we came but they have been encroached upon, equipments that we bought in the hospitals are been stolen and no body is doing anything, no penalty, our punishment and reward systems are not working”, the governor said.

He further noted: “I think that is the essence of coming here for us to sit down and talk to ourselves that we need to change”.