Governor Mohammed of Bauchi State
By Baba Shehu Oscu, Bauchi
The Permanent Secretary, Bauchi State Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Ali Babayo has said that the civil service is the only machinery for the implementation of government policies and programmes.
As such, he said, “it is expected that we all take part in the various decisions that the government is going to formulate, implement and even evaluate in the state.”
Babayo was speaking while addressing heads of administration of the twenty local government councils presently vested with steering the councils following the dissolution of the care-taker committee chairmen by Governor Bala Mohammad of Bauchi State.
The state governor, Senator Bala Mohammed last week immediately after taking the oath of office, dissolved caretaker committee chairmen with a directive Heads of administration take over.
The Permanent Secretary explained that civil servants who are politically neutral are supposed to be loyal to the government in power because it is their only constituency, hence there is no reason for divided loyalty.
“Our loyalty to the government is 100 percent, there should be no 99.9 percent loyalty, it has to be an absolute loyalty, so we should as much as possible try to be loyal to the government in power,” Babayo re-emphasized.
Alhaji Babayo therefore directed the heads of administration to step down the message to all directors in the councils, warning that any local government personnel found wanting in the discharge of his official duties has no one to blame but himself.
“As far as we are concern, there is a new government in place and we are going to show our absolute loyalty to the government. We are going to make sure that we contribute positively in the policy formulation, implementation, and all other things that the government in power is out to achieve for the state,” he noted.
Babayo expressed optimism that the new administration in the state is going to come up with various reform measures that will significantly improve the welfare of the people generally.
The Bauchi Local Government Council, Head of Administration, Abdullahi Musa who responded on behalf of his colleagues, assured that they will live up to their responsibilities, and pledged the councils’ total support to the new administration in the state.
