File Copy: Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has defended his administration’s approval of a comprehensive staff payroll verification exercise targeting “ghost” workers across the 23 local government areas.
The governor, who spoke on Monday during the inauguration of the Omademe Internal Roads Project in Ikwerre Local Government Area, said the approval of the verification exercise and implementation of its report were borne out of his administration’s resolve to entrench fiscal discipline in the public service.
On the issue of bloated salary payrolls at the local government level, Fubara said it had been a lingering challenge even before he assumed office, adding that there was a need to tackle it head-on.
According to the governor, the then Local Government Service Commission was already working on the issue before the emergency rule in the state, adding that when he returned from what he described as his “sabbatical leave” and a new commission was constituted, he remained determined to resolve the issue.
