By Uche Onyeali, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has directed sanction on civil servants who are still collecting salaries from the Federal Government even after relocating abroad.
The President stated this weekend at an event organised by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, HOCSF, to mark the 2024 Civil Service Week.
The Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Folasade Yemi-Esan last Wednesday disclosed that the Federal Government was making efforts to tackle workers who relocated abroad but are still on government payroll.
Speaking at the even on Saturday, Tinubu, who was represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume, directed that the heads and supervisors of the departments of such workers should also be sanctioned.
According to the President “While I was away in South Africa, I monitored some of the activities and especially read the shocking revelation by the Head of Service about hundreds of workers who had relocated abroad, without formally resigning their appointments and who were drawing salaries from the treasury, for years”,Tinubu said.
“Although, the Head of Service said some of these fraudulent workers have been uncovered, she should not stop there.
“The culprits must be made to refund the money they have fraudulently collected. Their supervisors and department heads must also be punished for aiding and abetting the fraud under their watch.
“The Nigerian civil service cannot just be a workplace where ‘anything is possible,’ where workers violate rules without the fear of punishment or repercussion.
“The civil service of any nation is too important for such delinquent behaviour to take root or be tolerated.
“The civil service is the bedrock, the engine, the locomotive of government, which is necessary for the government to deliver public goods to citizens.
“As politicians, we are no more than drivers of the locomotives that you provide.
“Those who say that a nation is as good as its civil service are close to the truth. You are the real establishment that remains to pilot government affairs as we politicians come and go.
“Over the decades, successive governments initiated various national development plans and programmes and all relied on the civil service to translate such plans into high-impact programmes and projects across all sectors of the nation’s economy. We expect you to do the same under our administration.
“This is why we support building, nurturing, and empowering the human capital in the service.
“This is why there is a paramount need to enshrine a culture of professionalism and build confidence in civil servants”.
The President added that his administration was committed to ensuring the welfare and development of all civil servants to deliver optimal performance for the growth of the nation.
He said the federal civil service was driving a strategic plan that is aligned with the priorities of his government.
