Bayelsa arrests treasury officers, as aides sworn in

Governor Seriake Dickson of Nigeria’s Bayelsa state has advised the new commissioners in the state to be transparent and prudent in the management of the affairs of their various ministries, even as he disclosed the arrest of some workers in the State treasury over bloated salary bills and phantom workers on the payroll of the state.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the governor spoke Wednesday in Yenogoa at the swearing-in ceremony of the commissioners, which took off four hours behind schedule.

He urged them to see their appointment as a call to service and not for personal aggrandisement.

He said the swearing-in signalled the commencement of his restoration agenda and urged the commissioners to key into it.

Dickson said the programme kicked off late because some of the appointees were yet to complete the filling of their code of conduct forms.

He urged commissioners to be focused on service delivery, adding that the task facing them in their various ministries was enormous.

“There is a blue print for the development of the state in your various ministries. I believe we will surmount the various challenges the state is facing.”

Dickson expressed concern over the bloated wage bill of the state, saying that Permanent Secretaries would be held responsible if the names of under-aged and ghost workers appeared on the payroll.