Taraba Govt Targets Irregular Promotions, Fake Credentials In Fresh Verification

Taraba State government has commenced a comprehensive verification for civil servants to sanitise the state workforce, correct irregular promotions and validate workers’ credentials.

The state’s head of Civil Service, Dr Abdulhamid Kara, disclosed this to journalists in Jalingo yesterday.

He said the exercise was not targeted at dismissing workers but designed to strengthen the civil service for improved productivity and efficiency.

Kara explained that the verification became necessary following public concerns over another s exercise shortly after an earlier one conducted by the government.

According to him, the ongoing exercise differs from previous screenings, stressing that it is specifically intended to ensure proper staff placement, career progression and compliance with civil service rules.

“This is not the normal screening to determine who is a civil servant or not. We are trying to create a stronger and more efficient civil service where workers, especially senior officers, are appropriately placed and paid according to their grade levels,” he said.

Dr. Kara noted that, the government had discovered cases of officers occupying senior positions without following due promotion procedures, including bypassing mandatory selection committee processes.

“We found some officers on Grade Levels 16 and 17 who did not pass through the proper promotion channels.

Where necessary, such cases will be reviewed and forwarded to the appropriate committee for regularisation,” he stated.

The Head of Service also revealed that the government uncovered instances of retired workers still occupying positions in some ministries and agencies.

“In the last two days alone, we identified some people who had retired but were still in service. Once confirmed, such individuals will be disengaged to create vacancies for younger people seeking employment,” he said.

He further disclosed that, the exercise would assess training gaps within the civil service to enable government design appropriate capacity-building programmes for workers.

According to him, the verification would also address the issue of workers remaining in one ministry or department for many years without redeployment.

“We discovered some officers who were posted to agencies like the Universal Basic Education Board and remained there for over 10 years in the same unit.

“We want to expose civil servants to broader administrative experience across ministries,” he added.

Dr. Kara said the government was also validating workers’ academic credentials to identify forged or altered documents.

“We are cross-checking credentials with the institutions concerned to ensure authenticity. We have already noticed discrepancies in some dates of birth submitted by workers,” he said.

On workers who transferred from local government service into the mainstream civil service without proper documentation, the Head of Service said government would consider regularising such cases where officers had served for many years.

“For those who have spent 10 to 15 years in service without proper transfer records, we intend to compile the necessary documentation and forward recommendations to government for approval,” he explained.

Reacting to rumours that some workers had already been disengaged, Dr. Kara denied the claims, insisting that the exercise was not intended to sack staff.

“No staff has been disengaged. The essence of the screening is not disengagement but proper documentation and restructuring of the civil service,” he said.

Speaking on the controversial issue of “ghost workers,” the Head of Service clarified that individuals previously identified on the payroll without proper employment records would not receive salary arrears.

He explained that, the affected persons had agreed with government to be treated as fresh employees once formally approved by Governor Agbu Kefas.

“You can only pay arrears to someone legally employed by government. Those whose names appeared on the payroll without valid employment records cannot claim arrears,” he stated.

Dr. Kara disclosed that, over 1,000 workers linked to the College of Agriculture and more than 800 associated with the College of Education would be redeployed to ministries and agencies where their services are needed.

He maintained that the ongoing reforms were part of efforts to reposition the Taraba State Civil Service for effective service delivery and transparency.

“We are only trying to strengthen the Taraba State Civil Service for better performance, productivity and efficient service delivery,” he said.