Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, has urged the members of the Local Government Physical Staff Verification and Attendance to Work Committee to execute their responsibilities with utmost ethical standards, responsibility, fairness, and impartiality. The governor, represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof Chidiebere Onyia, made this call during the committee’s inauguration at the Government House, Enugu.
Emphasizing the government’s commitment to rewarding productivity and penalizing inefficiencies and ghost workers, Mbah clarified that the verification exercise’s goal is not to witch-hunt but to ensure accountability in line with the administration’s principles of transparency, accountability, traceability, and optimal performance.
Addressing the context of the exercise, Mbah expressed concerns about discrepancies between the number of staff observed during surprise visits to local governments and the payroll list. He stressed a shift from mere attendance to productivity, aligning with the administration’s ambitious goal of elevating Enugu State’s economic status.
The governor urged committee members, selected based on their track records, to demonstrate high ethical standards, aligning with the government’s vision of each worker contributing to the state’s overall growth.
The committee’s tasks, as outlined by Mbah, include conducting periodic physical verification, determining the actual number of local government workers, and ensuring salaries are paid to those fulfilling job responsibilities with satisfactory work output. Stressing the need for workers to justify their roles through dedication and commitment, Mbah announced that visits for verification would be unannounced and conducted as spot-checks.
He reiterated the government’s stance on the importance of eliminating redundancy, expecting every government employee to be at work five days a week, contributing value to public service. The governor also highlighted the involvement of the Commissioner for Labour and Productivity and a team of technical experts in the biometric verification process.
The committee, chaired by Prof. Onyia, includes members such as Comrade Kenneth Ugwueze, Theophilus Odo, Osondu Nnaji, Adenike Okebu, Peter Nnaji, Chukwudi Nsude, and Dan Nwomeh, with Prof. Obiamaka Egbo serving as secretary.
