GOV OKOWA'S SILENT FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION, OFFICIAL NEGLIGENCE, FORGERY AND FALSIFICATION. By Latimore Fred Oghenesivbe

...GOV'T TO SAVE OVER N20 BILLION ANNUALLY BASED ON STAFF VERIFICATION EXERCISE AND DATA CAPTURE.

By Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe Esq (EA Communications).

The Okowa administration in Delta State, South-South region of Nigeria, has in two years recorded remarkable progress in what is now known as "Silent War Against Corruption."

Without first making noise in the mass media before swinging into action (as we have seen in the APC States), His Excellency the Executive Governor of Delta State constituted strategic committees, one of which was the "State Staff Verification Committee" saddled with the responsibility of conducting critical and comprehensive staff audit.

The Committee headed by Patience Nkem Okwuofu, recently submitted its final report to the Governor with heart breaking revelation that over N12.3 billion annually developed wings and flew into private pockets thereby constituting a major leakage on the state finances.

It was further discovered that thousands of workers on the state government payrolls were either long dead, acute absentees, age falsification, degree certificate forgers or ghost workers without physical identification.

While the dust generated by the startling discovery is yet to settle-down, the office of the Head of Service confirmed that 185 names of dead civil servants and 45 names of ghost workers were found in Post-Primary Education Board, sucking money fraudulently from the state treasury; prompting Gov Okowa to order the immediate removal of the names from payrolls.

The latest discovery and many more to come in the life of this administration, it is safe to assert that over N20 billion shall be saved from unscrupulous tendencies and transactions of fraudulent civil servants conniving to dupe the state government of huge funds annually.

There are strong indications that the SMART GOVERNOR of Delta State and his Exco may consider the "WHISTLE BLOWER" policy as a deliberate action of the Okowa administration to further fight corruption, official negligence, falsification and forgery without necessarily making loud noise about it. Afterall, action speaks louder than words.

We also have it on good account that a large number of past local government chairmen, councillors and their aides still draw salaries from their respective local councils.

The source posited that huge wage bills in the entire 25 LGAs are traceable to the large number of ghost workers, deliberate refusal to delete names of past elected representatives and political appointees from local councils payrolls.

In Delta State, government is firm, tactful and decisive in war against corruption without making a public show of it.

Gov Okowa subsequently gave firm orders that Head of Ministries, Departments and Agencies where those crimes were deliberately perpetrated should be sanctioned after adequate disciplinary measures. Some of them may never get promoted from their present official status till retirement age.

Okowa administration will continue to deliver quality and substantial dividends of democracy anchored on sound and results oriented socioeconomic policies and good governance to the good people of Delta State.

DELTA STATE IN SAFE HANDS.