Kano Gov, probes 10,000 new workers hired by ex-Gov Ganduje

The government of Kano State says it is forming a 22-member committee to verify the legitimacy of the employment of more than 10,000 workers who were recruited during the tenure of the former governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

This committee has been tasked with examining whether the proper protocols were followed in the recruitment process.

During the inauguration of the committee, the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Abdullahi Bappa Bichi, emphasised the significance of adhering to due process and urged committee members to carry out their duties impartially and without bias.

“The primary issue driving our gathering today is the abrupt employment of over 10,000 civil servants, a move made without adhering to the established guidelines governing civil service employment“, he said.

Dr Bichi added that “the government views this occurrence as an irregularity and has therefore decided to establish a committee to comprehensively review the entire process. The aim is to ascertain whether the recruitment was grounded in actual manpower necessities and the operational requirements of the relevant MDAs, or if it was influenced by other factors such as allegations of favouritism and nepotism.”

The committee has been assigned several mandates, including the compilation of a list of already recruited personnel. They are also responsible for calculating the financial implications of these hirings on the state’s finances and verifying whether budgetary allocations were properly adhered to.

The committee’s chairman, Dr Umar Shehu Minjibir, who is also the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, pledged to ensure fairness throughout the committee’s assignment.

In the meantime, Inuwa Kabir, the Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), expressed satisfaction with the establishment of the committee, saying he believed that the committee’s work would clarify the status of the recruited workers.

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, had halted the salaries of employees hired by the previous governor, Ganduje.