Lateness: Governor locks out civil servants

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, on Monday, paid an unscheduled visit to state secretariat and locked out hundreds of civil servants that came late to work.
AbdulRazaq arrived at the secretariat at 7.55am and when it was 8am, ordered security men to lock the two entrances into the secretariat complex.
Hundreds of workers were locked out of the complex and the few workers that had arrived for work rushed to their offices.
Large crowd of onlookers were seen at the Offa Road gate of the secretariat singing praises of the governor for taking such a step to visit the complex unannounced.
Many of the workers were still locked out by the time the governor left the secretariat about 9.52am.
A statement by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, said that AbdulRazaq decried the lateness of civil servants to work.
Ajakaye quoted the governor as saying that he was very unhappy at the lateness of many civil servants to work and might consider imposing appropriate sanctions for late coming.
According to him, such attitude was unhelpful to government business in the 21st century.
“Late coming and poor attitude to work certainly will not be tolerated. The civil service should be business-like and efficient in service delivery.
“As we try to support the civil service to deliver on its mandate, we expect a drastic shift from old practices that have taken our state nowhere,” the governor said.
AbdulRazaq also directed the Kwara State Scholarship Board to present a memo detailing the state of students’ bursary and scholarship.
He gave the directive during the tour of the secretariat and asked the board to communicate to all students beneficiary to open accounts.
AbdulRazaq also directed the board to, henceforth, adopt e-payment for the disbursement of bursary.
Meanwhile, the governor has commended the staff of the Children’s Hospital at Centre Igboro, Ilorin, for their dedication to work.
The governor gave the commendation during an impromptu visit to the hospital on Sunday to check the state of their facilities.
“The governor wishes to specially commend the staff of the Children’s Hospital for their exemplary service beyond the call of duty,’’ the statement said.
He appreciated the workers and urged them to continue in that way.