Niger State Commissioner for Finance, Hon. Lawal Adamu Maikano, has said that the issue of ghost workers in the civil service was one area the state government wanted to thoroughly checkmate as it has been identified as one of the areas where government resources were being wasted due to overblown staff strength.
The Commissioner, who stated this while interacting with journalists in his office on Monday, said that if need be for staff verification, technology would be deployed to ensure that civil servants were verified from the comfort of their homes without any stress, adding that Gov. Umaru Bago was passionate about civil servants and he wants them to be happy and work comfortably.
The Commissioner also said his desire was to see that civil servants in the state get their salaries by the 25th of every month and, if there was any issue, by the 27th, which he said he was hoping to commence by January 2024.
"You know, His Excellency Umar Mohammed Bago likes the civil service more than anything else. He wants the civil servants to be much more comfortable and happy doing their jobs. You know you cannot be happy doing your job when you are hungry.
"So, he is putting all measures in place to ensure that whenever it is due for salary release, it is done," explained the Commissioner.
Hon. Maikano pointed out that the ministry would collaborate with the state planning commission to ensure that the present administration spends within the budgetary provisions of the state.
He said the administration of Hon. Mohammed Umaru Bago was determined to ensure that all capital projects embarked upon had a direct bearing on the people.
He disclosed that they intended to abide by the provisions of the budget, hence their determination to focus on providing basic social amenities to the people of the state.
The finance commissioner revealed that they will identify waste and do away with it so that there will be enough resources to execute projects that will positively impact the lives of Nigerlites.
He added that the desire of Gov. Umaru Bago was to ensure that the basic amenities were available to the people, which include good healthcare services, a road network, portable water, and a good education system, among others, which according to him can only be obtainable through judicious use of state resources.
"We want to ensure that those things that are not necessary are done away with.
We have identified a lot of wastages, and His Excellency, Hon. Mohammed Umaru Bago, is doing everything necessary to take away those wastages. Once those wastages are taken away, you will see that there will be enough funds available for projects that will impact the lives of the people of Niger State," said the Commissioner.
On improving internally generated revenue (IGR), the Commissioner disclosed that there was a retreat earlier organised by the state revenue board on revenue harmonisation, which was signed by the immediate past administration.
He revealed that going forward, no agency will be allowed to generate and spend revenue because any revenue generated and spent cannot be counted as revenue because it didn't get into the government coffers, adding that they want all the revenue collected to be in one purse and that agencies will be well funded to carry out their statutory functions from that purse.
The Commissioner disclosed that they want to harmonise the revenue collection process in the state because they are targeting a hundred billion naira annual revenue generation in the state, which he said was possible through the introduction of technology into the revenue collection process as well as the blocking of all loopholes.
For his plan to ensure that staff of his ministry are in tune with the new vision of the ministry, the Commissioner said there are plans for capacity building for staff of the ministry in order to be on the same page and to be effective and efficient in service delivery.