PORT HARCOURT (Sundiata Post) – Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that his administration has settled the outstanding salary arrears left by the immediate past administration, noting that civil servants’ salaries in the state have now been paid up to date.
Wike also declared that the time has come for fresh blood to be injected into the State Civil Service to make it more productive with the capacity to contribute effectively to the development of the state
Speaking during the swearing in of the new Head of Service of the State, Mr Rufus Godwins at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Thursday, Governor Wike said the time has come for the state’s civil servants to key into the mission and vision of the administration.
He said that his administration would diligently pursue civil servants welfare in exchange for quality service delivery from the employees of the state.
He regretted that under the present situation, most of the permanent secretaries are not committed to service. He said that he had to appoint a new Head of Service for the State to ensure that the civil service join the administration in the implementation of programmes to develop the state.
The governor informed the permanent secretaries that beginning July, the administration will begin the payment of monthly overheads to Ministries, which was stopped by the last administration.
He said: “So many things have gone wrong in the State Civil Service which need to be corrected. The new Head of Service now has the job of ensuring that the civil servants key into the mission and vision of the administration.
“Many of the permanent secretaries are supposed to have retired based on their records of service. These are some of the issues that needs to be addressed. The new Head of Service has the mandate to inject fresh blood in the system”.
The governor specifically charged the Head of Service to improve the condition of the State Secretariat, make the lifts and conveniences functional and enhance key facilities in the premises.
Responding, the new Head of Service, Mr Rufus Godwins assured that he will refocus the civil service to key into the programmes of the new administration.
He said that though the challenges were enormous, he has the capacity to drive the process.