The Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, on Thursday ordered the suspension of civil servants not at their duty posts by 10am following an unannounced inspection of the state secretariat in Awka.
Soludo moved from office to office across ministries and departments to assess punctuality and staff presence during official working hours.
Addressing journalists after the visit, the governor directed that any worker absent from their desk by 10am should face immediate suspension without pay.
“I walked in, office by office, and there are quite a significant number of workers who are not yet at work as of 10 am. This is unacceptable.
“The ‘bad eggs’ will be shipped out because Anambra is an A-state and cannot afford an inefficient civil service.
Firm measures will be taken to check these attitudes in the civil service.”
He described his findings as a mix of “the good, the bad and the ugly,” praising diligent workers while expressing displeasure over absenteeism and poor work ethic among others.
The governor warned that indiscipline and lack of commitment would no longer be tolerated, stressing that reforms aimed at building a disciplined and result-oriented workforce would be strictly enforced.
“The government had invested significantly in improving infrastructure and working conditions at the secretariat. Workers should reciprocate with dedication and productivity,” he added.
Soludo said the administration’s civil service reform agenda rests on three pillars: deployment of technology through digital workflows, effective supervision and evaluation through performance tracking, and sustained improvement of physical infrastructure.
“We are committed to evolving a civil service that is agile, effective, and efficient.
“To achieve this, the administration is prioritising three key pillars of reform: deployment of technology – transitioning towards digital workflows to enhance speed and transparency.
“Effective supervision and evaluation – implementing rigorous performance tracking to ensure accountability at all levels and physical infrastructure improvements – sustaining the modernisation of the secretariat to provide a conducive work environment.”
He noted that the surprise visit was intended as a clear signal of the government’s resolve to transform the state bureaucracy into a high-performance system capable of delivering the dividends of democracy to Ndi Anambra.
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