The Speaker, Kwara state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi, Honorable members and appointed political office holders in the state led the screening exercise of Kwara state Teaching Service Commission (TSC), Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and Local Governments’ staff in their respective local governments.The screening, which is aimed at blocking financial leakages in the State and mopping up resources for public goods begins today, with State Legislators and political office holders forming the screening team, against the usual culture of hiring consultants for such purpose.Danladi, who led the Baruten local government team admonished the employees to be sincere and cooperative in the course of the exercise for posterity sake, noting that periodically, people retire or resign from the State civil service, people die and there is no fresh recruitment, yet our wage bill remain constant.“We are aware of schools with single teachers and those with none, if you lie in defense of anybody, it is at your own peril, you will be treated as one not only destroying the affected school but the community, Baruten local government and Kwara state.“Our benchmark for oil price in the 2020 budget is $57 per barrel and currently, it has declined drastically, we need to look inward and block leakages so we can be able to pay salaries and execute infrastructural projects”, Danladi said.“By this exercise, we will not only be saving public resources, it will also create window for employment into yhe civil service and ensure we have adequate human resources that will deliver quality education in our schools”, he added.The secretary to the Team, Hon. Mohammed Baba Saliu who doubles as the Chairman, House Committee on Education and Human Capital Development said the exercise is part of efforts targeted at sanitizing the rots in the polity and would be very rigorous.“We know you deserve better welfare, we know our local governments has been redundant, we are oblivious of the paralysis of our education sector and that is why we are doing this. Change is a continuous process and it must be overall. We appeal for your commitment, endurance and support to ensure this exercise meets its required objective”, Mohammed saidHe added that “the present government should have paid hundreds of million of Naira to consultants, which is enough to pay the minimum wage but we are all back home as son of the soil to work for the people and sanitize the system ourselves. We can’t afford wasting our commonwealth”.For his own bit, the Commissioner for Energy, Dr. Lafia Aliyu Kora Sabi noted as a former boss of Baruten local government, he is acquainted with its operations and have enough evidence on some complaints, he therefore urge the employees to cooperate with the team towards the success of the exercise.He said “this exercise is a litmus test of trust in you (LG, SUBEB and TESCOM employees), your sincerity in the course of this exercise will reflect your interest in the progress, development and future of Baruten and Kwara state”.The local government team, headed by the Director of Personal Management, Mall. Tsadiku Mohammed assured the Team of their readiness to give maximum support to ensure the screening is successful, understanding its significance to the state’s development and employees welfare.Also speaking, the local Chairman of National Union of Local Government Employee (NULGE), Mall. Abdulrahman Audu expressed pride in the actions of the State government to sanitize the system, noting it must be get right.Abdulrahman however express reservations over non-issuance of updated identity cards and underpayment of some employees against their current levels, which are part of requirements for the screening. He equally made case for consideration of sick staff who could not be physically available for the exercise.Other members of the Team includes the Special Assitant to the Governor on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Dr. Jemilah Bio-Ibrahim, Commissioner II of Kwara state Civil Service Commission Madam Afeniforo Dorcas and Member Kwara state House of Assembly Service Commission Mall. Mohammed Saidu Bode.End.Ibrahim Sheriff .A.S. A., Media to the Hon. Speaker, Kwara state House of Assembly.
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