Mr. Simon Lalong, Governor of Plateau State.
By Marie-Therese Nanlong
Jos – Plateau State Governor, Mr. Simon Lalong has sworn-in members of the Plateau State Disability Rights Commission.
Governor Lalong performed the swearing in on Tuesday at the new Government House, Little Rayfield, Jos, also inaugurated the State Civil Service Commission, Plateau Independent Electoral Commission, State House of Assembly Service Commission among others.
While admonishing the members of the Disability Rights Commission to be up and doing, the Governor said he will continue to fight for the rights of people living with disabilities and ensure their welfare is given priority.
He reiterated his administration’s commitment to overhaul the State Civil Service and make it more efficient and responsive to current challenges in policy making and implementation.
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The Governor noted among the steps taken to reposition the Civil Service is the current audit to remove ghost workers and those who have tampered with their records to remain in office perpetually.
“As experienced technocrats, Plateau State will be relying on you to deploy the best of your skills, techniques, and experiences to track down ghost workers, and other fraudulent staff who have over the years tampered with their records to perpetually remain in service.
“This is the only way we can save cost and open up doors for the younger ones to be engaged in service and bring in fresh ideas about governance.
“Moreover, this is a generation that is driven by Information and Communication Technologies that are at the tip of the fingers of our children. Why then would someone continue to tamper with records to block the younger ones from having an opportunity to serve the State and the nation?”
Lalong said the State Civil Service remains the engine of governance which must be constantly upgraded to perform effectively.
On revenue generation, the Governor said the target is to raise the internally generated revenue of the State to over N3billion monthly and charged the Chairman of the PSIRS to drive the process and ensure that the new revenue vision comes to pass.
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Lalong also harped on the issue of transparency and accountability as he charged the Auditor General of the State; the Director General of Procurement; and the Members of the State House of Assembly Commission; to be “up and doing” particularly as they were coming into office when the State has already commenced implementing full autonomy for the Legislature and Judiciary.
He said there is greater need for transparency, accountability and due diligence across the three arms to ensure that resources are used judiciously and for the benefit of the people.
Responding on behalf of the appointees, Chairman of the State Civil Service Commission, Mr. Luka Fwangyil promised to do their best and serve the State with diligence and honesty. He promised that they will work in tandem with the mandate of the Governor to cleanse the civil service and make it more credible.
