The Kano State Head of Service, Alhaji Abdullahi Musa, says his office has effectively checked absenteeism and lateness among civil servants in the state.
“Since we came in, we have been able to address the issues of absenteeism and lateness among civil servants in the state such that workers now report for work promptly and close at the stipulated time.
“If you look round the state Secretariat you will notice that the offices are full of activities with the civil servants promptly performing their assigned duties,” Musa said.
The Head of Service who made the remark during an interview with newsmen in his office on Wednesday, described absenteeism and lateness as serious issues that deserved serious response.
According to him, the feat was achieved through contacts and engagements with workers, urging them to change their attitude to work for their own good, the good of the service and the state.
He said as part of the ‘engagement and contact policy’, he visited virtually all the Ministries Departments and Agencies in the state government, met with the staff and talked to them on the need to adjust and change their attitude to work.
Musa said he also organized a parley for the workers during which he talked to them and appealed to their conscience to change their attitude to work, reminding them that they represent between 21 and 23 million people of the state.
“We adopted the carrot and stick approach in order to address the situation. But so far we have only been using the carrot method; the stick approach will be used when the need arises,” the Head of Service added.
He also said that he decided not to use a circular to change the situation as the circular method might not give the desired results in good time and in the circumstances.
Musa expressed delight that the engagement policy is working as the 160,000 workers in the Kano State Civil Service are adjusting to the new situation.
