Staff of the Bauchi State Government House were yesterday made to swear to an oath that they would not divulge any government information.
The oath was undertaken at a Magistrates’ Court in Bauchi.
A worker told Daily Trust that the Governor Mohammed Abubakar had directed that all the staff recently deployed to the Government House should take the oath in order not to reveal government secrets.
The source said they were issued a letter of secrecy pursuant to Sections 2 and 7 of the Official Oaths Laws, Cap 102 Laws of Bauchi State 2006.
It would be recalled that the state’s Head of Service, Mr Abdon Dalla Gin, had at a news conference at the Government House over a month ago warned civil servants against gross misconduct, including leaking government secrets.
He warned that anybody found leaking government secrets would face disciplinary action, adding that recent developments in the service had created a lot of concern for the government.
“Recent happenings in the service have created a lot of concern for us where cases of gross misconduct and misbehaviours abound like leaking of government secrets, indolence and negligence of duty. These are punishable offences and we will not hesitate to take drastic punitive actions against any erring officer”, he said.
The Special Assistant on Media to the governor, Yakubu Ibn Mohammed, said there was nothing strange about the oath as it was just a re-affirmation of the pledge made by every government worker at the time of employment not to divulge government information.