No plan to retrench workers now – FG

The Federal Government has said that there are no plans to either sack or retrench federal workers.

The Accountant General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris said this on Tuesday in Abuja.

He was speaking at the February 2020 Lunch Time Reform Seminar and the first edition for the Year.

The seminar, organised by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), was themed “Transformation and Digitalization of Public Financial Management System in Nigeria: Innovations, Bottlenecks and Way Forward”.

“I do not agree with the concept of over-bloated civil service, what I agree is that we should deploy for efficiency and it is a multifaceted problem or challenge. Many at times, it is not about the job or lack of capacity. There should be critical assessment where the workers should be deployed. I think there is need for a specific programme to look critically into the civil service, where we think we have more than the required, we deploy to the other areas.

“As I said and as far as doctors, nurses and other medical personnel are concerned, we don’t have enough. We have not met the international recognised ration. We don’t have enough police.

“Insecurity is an issue and we need more police. So government should come up with a strategy. So the civil service is not over bloated, but there is inefficiency and this should be addressed. We are all striving to find solution. There are many sectors that are lacking and workers can be re-deployed and be utilised,” Idris said.

He also said that for the sustainability of all reforms, Public Finance Reforms (PFR) initiatives should be supported, sustained and protected.

“We have already worked out a draft legislation for the attention and approval of Federal Executive Council (FEC) to give legal framework to the various public finance reforms being implemented by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. These draft legislations are as follows: Public Finance Mgt Bill, 2020 (repealing the Finance Control Mgt Act, 1958) and Federal Treasury Academy Orozo and Related Matters Bill, 2020,” he said.

Speaking earlier, the Director General BPSR, Dr. Dasuki Arabi, said digitalization, which is still a relatively new concept, substantially strengthens core Public Financial Management (PFM) functions, making regular and timely payments, reaching the right beneficiaries, improving accounting and reporting, and strengthening accountability by providing a more reliable audit trail.