Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State has ordered the suspension of civil servants who did not show up at work on time on Thursday.
Mr Soludo made the remark on Thursday during an unscheduled visit to the state’s secretariat, noting that many workers had not reported for work as of 10 a.m.
In several video clips circulating on Facebook, the governor was seen moving from one office to another, noting that many workers had not been at their offices as of 10 a.m. on Thursday.
In one of the clips seen by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Soludo said that upon entering the secretariat, he ordered the facility’s gate to be locked to prevent latecomers from sneaking into the building during his inspection.
Some civil servants who reported to work after the governor had locked the gate were seen in a video clip milling around the facility.
From pinning off from payroll to sack
While addressing some workers after the inspection, Mr Soludo said workers in the state are supposed to resume by 8 a.m. every working day, and those who report after 10 a.m. are not committed to working for the state.
“That’s unacceptable. Totally unacceptable,” he said of the workers’ lateness to work.
“We can’t have our (civil) service that way. And we are going to be very intentional about having an agile, effective and efficient civil service.”
The governor commended a few workers who were at their duty posts before he arrived at the secretariat, but initially threatened to suspend and remove from payroll those who failed to show up on time.
“We’re going to take very firm measures. For those of them who are cut out (locked out), I have given instructions that they should be ‘pinned off’ from our payroll.
“The bad eggs who will not come to work early and who will give their service as required will be shipped out.
“They should be sent on suspension for months. They are not ready to work. And we will make do with a significantly reduced number because if you’re not showing up for work early enough, then you don’t need the job,” he said.
Mr Soludo stressed that workers ought to show commitment by arriving at work early and working for at least 8 hours a day.
“If any worker is not showing up for work at the time he is supposed to there and rendering service to the people, then, it means we don’t need you. The state doesn’t need you. We will hire people who will do the work,” he stated.
The governor then suggested that he had ordered the sack of workers who had not reported to work during his unscheduled visit to the secretariat.
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“We are going to be taking quiet measures. I have asked for those who haven’t shown up now let them go,” he said.
Mr Soludo said he would deploy technological devices to identify workers who do not arrive at work on time.
First surprise visit
This is the first time Mr Soludo has paid an unscheduled visit to the state’s secretariat since he became governor of Anambra State in 2022.
The unscheduled visit came about a week after he was sworn in for his second term in office on 17 March.
