Bayelsa uncovers 8,000 inherited appointments in public service

The on-going public service reforms by the present administration in Bayelsa has thrown up more staggering revelation with the discovery of over 8,000 inherited appointments.

State commissioner for information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, who revealed this yesterday, said family members of deceased civil servants inherited their positions. He said this, coupled with irregular appointments, arbitrary promotions and impersonations, has led to the over bloated wage bill which the government is trying to reduce. He said the decision to redeploy personnel in the public service identified to be redundant by their supervisors to other agencies was in their best interest and that of the public and not meant to witch-hunt anyone.

Iworiso-Markson averred that as painful as the government’s action was, it was done to avoid a collapse of the state’s public service, which has been under rot for years. He said the state-owned Radio Station (Glory FM) had over 300 personnel, while its private counterparts operate effectively with less than 12 personnel. According to him, it was the decision of the government to screen, train and redeploy workers with specialization in education to schools since the state was in need of teachers. He added that the government has made arrangements to make financial provision for those found not qualified to be in the system and such people would be trained so that they are empowered to venture into private businesses. He also decried the sale of appointments for N250, 000 and other employment racketeering, which he said is rife in local councils and parastatals.