More than 200 civil servants in Delta State have been compulsorily retired from the public service over allegations of age falsification and possessing questionable credentials.
This was disclosed by the Chairman of the Delta State Civil Service Commission and head of the ongoing screening committee, Chief Roseline Amioku, while addressing journalists at the commission’s office in Asaba, where the verification exercise is underway.
Chief Amioku explained that the screening is part of the state government’s broader civil service reforms aimed at improving productivity and ensuring effective service delivery. According to her, the process revealed that a significant number of civil servants had altered their birth records to remain in service well past the statutory retirement age.
“A lot of people have been blowing the whistle. When we looked into the files, we discovered that hundreds of workers who were supposed to have retired five years ago are still in service and drawing salaries,” she said. “Some even falsified their records to the point where their children are now older than them on paper.”
She confirmed that over 200 civil servants have already been retired for age falsification, and stressed that the exercise is far from over.
“We’ve only covered less than 50 per cent of the workforce. The screening will continue into next year,” Amioku stated, adding that the initiative is about doing the right thing and not a ploy to downsize or cut the government’s wage bill as alleged by some of the affected workers.
It would be recalled that several civil servants affected by the ongoing reform had accused the state government of using the screening as a cover to reduce staff strength and slash expenditure.
However, Chief Amioku dismissed the claims, insisting that the exercise is focused on restoring integrity and accountability in the state civil service.
Credit: RADIO NIGERIA
