By Samuel Oyadongha & Emem Idio

EKEREMOR—BAYELSA State Ggovernment has called for active participation of whistle blowers to support its efforts at sanitising the public service.

This is coming on the heels of the revelation by a traditional ruler in Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state, who alleged that a grade level 10  health worker was earning as much as N600,000 monthly until the atrocity was discovered by the staff verification committee.

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Ekeremor, the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr  Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the current administration would not relent in its efforts to sanitise the public service and make it one of the best in Nigeria.

Whistle-blowers

He said whistle blowing would encourage the public “to blow the whistle on any worker who is defrauding the system or engaged in fraudulent activities to short-change the government.”

He expressed the current administration’s readiness to partner individuals, especially those that have useful information on the activities of pay roll fraudsters in the state public service.

Iworiso-Markson expressed confidence that the ongoing public sector reforms would enable government save funds to commence the payment of gratuities of civil servants and other welfare packages before the end of the current administration’s tenure.

Funds that were hitherto spent on the payment of non-existent workers, he said, would be prudently managed to ensure that all genuine workers and retirees receive their earnings as and when due.

According to him, the reforms were helping to cut the wage bills of both state and local councils.

He therefore expressed hope that the process would strengthen government to embark on more infrastructural development.

Commending the Chiefs and people of Ekeremor community for cooperating with government in maintaining peace in the area, Iworiso-Markson urged them to sustain the kind gesture to enable government take the Sagbama-Ekeremor road to Ekeremor main town by December this year.

The Caretaker Chairman of Ekeremor council, Mr Tolu Amatu, who recounted the gains recorded from the reforms, said that the council’s wage bill has been reduced from over N90 million in 2016 to its current N64 million.

While appreciating Governor Seriake Dickson and the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Iworiso-Markson for initiating the interactive meeting, Amatu assured government of the people’s readiness to support the reforms.