Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas
Taraba State Government has commenced a comprehensive screening and verification exercise for civil servants aimed at reviewing promotions, placements and service records, especially among senior officials in the state workforce.
The exercise, being conducted through the Office of the Head of Civil Service, is also expected to identify workers suspected of falsifying their age in order to remain in service beyond retirement age.
Speaking with journalists in Jalingo, the Head of Civil Service, Mr. Ahmed Kara, dismissed fears in some quarters that the screening was designed to sack workers from the state civil service.
According to him, the exercise is intended to help the government update and properly document the records of workers for effective placement and career progression.
Kara explained that the screening would ensure that civil servants are placed on the appropriate grade levels in line with their qualifications and years of service.
He noted that the government wants to prevent situations where workers are either underpaid or occupying positions they are not qualified for under the civil service rules.
The Head of Service also stressed the need to ensure that officers promoted to higher levels had passed through the required training and career stages before attaining such positions.
“During our screening, if we find out a civil servant did not pass though the necessary stages, we will send him back to the committee for appropriate placement,” he said.
Kara further stated that the exercise would help the government identify training gaps within the workforce and develop a proper capacity-building template for civil servants across the state.
“Apart from that, we are training our civil servants, we want to know what is that gap, what is the training requirements, by the time we finish this screening, we will come up with a template to show what we need in the service.”
He added that the government was aware that some workers who had reached retirement age were still in active service, noting that the verification process would help identify such cases.
According to him, retiring those who have exceeded their years of service would create employment opportunities for unemployed graduates in the state.
Kara also disclosed that the exercise would include verification of academic and professional credentials submitted by workers during previous documentation exercises.
> “Another thing we want to do is validation of credentials, the last training we conducted we understand that people submitted their credentials, we want to see that what they submitted is actually what they have and they are placed at their appropriate levels,” Kara stated.
Meanwhile, findings by our correspondent indicate that many civil servants in the state have become anxious over the ongoing exercise amid fears that it could lead to dismissals and compulsory retirements.
