The Kano State government has accused the immediate past administration of Abdullahi Ganduje of engaging in mass employment without following necessary guidelines and service regulations. The government revealed that a committee was set up to screen and verify the employment conducted by the previous administration, and its findings indicated that unqualified individuals, including junior secondary school students, were employed into the civil service.
Abdullahi Baffa Bichi, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), stated that the verification committee’s report highlighted several irregularities, including employment not captured in the 2023 Approved Budget, the absence of screening processes, suspicious or forged certificates, and the employment of non-indigenes over qualified unemployed indigenes. The report also pointed out instances of gross underemployment, where individuals with higher qualifications were placed in junior cadres contrary to the needs of the respective government departments.
Bichi further disclosed that the employment process did not consider the actual manpower needs of the ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) but was influenced by the desire to tie down the new administration financially. The report revealed cases of students, including those in junior and senior secondary schools, as well as individuals undergoing their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), being employed. Additionally, it noted the presence of overaged or under-aged individuals on the state payroll.
As a result, the committee recommended the dismissal of over 3,000 unqualified persons identified during the verification process. The Kano State government aims to address the irregularities in employment and ensure adherence to proper guidelines and regulations in future recruitments.
