Barely 24 hours after organised labour in Ekiti State had raised alarm that the State Assembly Service Commission was going to use the audit to illegally sack some staff, the commission has released a report of its staff audit, citing a lot of irregularities and overaged staff.
The Chairman of the Commission, Taiwo Olatunbosun, disclosing details of the report to newsmen in Ado Ekiti, on Tuesday, said the audit had been concluded and that it was part of its efforts to put an end to irregularities. ”
The audit ultimately discovered irregularities ranging from hiding, alteration, and mutilation of files, the advancement of staff without due process, appointees illegally retained in the system after expiration of tenure and arbitrary transfer of service without cognate experience.
”It also discovered overaged staff members, irregular appointments/promotion of staff without approval, cases of forgery, arbitrary placement of officers with utter disregard to the scheme of service, and many more”, Olatunbosun said.
He added: “The audit, which started last year on the assumption of office of the present Commission members, engaged the services of auditors over complaints, agitations, and petitions from some members of staff on allegations of irregular advancement, absenteeism, arbitrary promotion and placement of officers above colleagues without regards to provisions of the scheme of service.
The outcome of the audit would also assist in re-organising the legislative service commission for effective and quality service delivery in line with the scheme of service, he said, adding that the report had since been discussed with the management of the Commission and the leadership of the state chapter of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN).
The chairman stressed that the routine staff audit was carried out in good faith, without any intention of vendetta, witch-hunt, or victimization of any person.
He, however, explained that the exercise would assist the Commission to restructure, reposition, and bridge the generational gap in the establishment.
NAN recalled that organised labour in the state had on Monday raised alarm that it received a petition from the state chapter of PASAN alleging that the Commission, in collaboration with the State Assembly, had concluded plans to use the outcome of the audit to illegally terminate appointments, and threatened industrial action.
Reacting to the development on Monday, Olatunbosun dismissed the claim as exaggerated, saying that the audit report was not strange to public service and that it was made to put things in their proper perspective, as well as right the wrongs.
