By Lawal Gwanda
Heads of Personnel Management in Katsina local government councils have accused of poor supervision and record keeping.
The accusations were levelled against the officials by the Katsina State Special Adviser on Local Government Inspectorate, Hon. Lawal Rufa’i Safana.
Hon. Lawal Rufa’i stated this on Monday during an engagement with all Heads of Personnel Departments held at the Conference Hall of the Ministry for Local Government and Emirate Affairs, Katsina.
The Special Adviser accused the HOPs of failing to effectively monitor and supervise the activities of other operational departments within their respective LGAs.
He therefore directed them to ensure proper documentation, collation, and safe custody of all vital records relating to local government administration.
“The coordination of these documents must be absolutely within your files. The records have to be with you because when they are needed, you are the ones that will be queried and you must be able to produce them,” he said.
Hon. Lawal Rufa’i also raised concerns over the lack of accountability in the procurement and allocation of vehicles to Councillors across LGAs.
“One issue that attracted my attention very much is the issue of Councillors’ vehicles. I understand that in some cases, the money for the vehicles was given to them to go and purchase. In other cases, the vehicles were purchased but there is no record to show that government money was used to buy a vehicle for a particular person, how much it was bought for, what brand it is, what color, the chassis number, the registration number, and its allocation”, he stated.
While advising the HOPs to check staff that illegally sell government properties, Hon. Lawal Rufa’i assured them of a conducive environment to discharge their assigned duties and
stressed that they must ensure the imposition of discipline within the staff.
In a remark, the representative of the Directors of Administration and Finance Forum, Alhaji Salisu Usman Dangamau assured the Special Adviser of their support to the Personnel Departments in keeping proper records.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Directors of Personnel Forum, Alhaji Sam’ila Bala thanked the Special Adviser and assured him of their readiness to work as expected and in line with government directives.
Proper record keeping and discipline are key to promoting transparency, accountability, and efficiency in line with the vision of Governor Dikko Umaru Radda’s* administration.
