Tke Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has said the recruitment of 4,000 new public servants was based on identified gaps in the state’s public service.

Eno disclosed this at the orientation exercise for the newly recruited workers at the Ibom Tropicana Event Centre, Uyo, capital of the state.

He said on assumption of office, his administration conducted a staff verification exercise which uncovered over 2,000 ghost workers and several retired workers still on the payroll.

He said, “After blocking the leakages, it became necessary to recruit to fill the vacant positions and strengthen the service. There was a huge vacancy gap in the service, so we are not recruiting to bloat the service but to strengthen and make the public service more efficient for excellent work output.

“Governance is serious business to be undertaken by serious-minded people. So, the recruitment was done out of utmost exigency and available vacancies to strengthen the system to function effectively.”

The governor said his administration remains committed to prompt payment of salaries and gratuities, and commended President Bola Tinubu for making funds available to states to enhance project execution and payment of salaries and other emoluments.

He charged the new employees to be at their best, be proficient in digitalisation and conduct themselves properly in service to the public and the state.

Eno urged them to deploy innovation and relate respectfully with their superiors to promote excellent government services and transform the public service.

“As our children, the reason we sent you to school was for you to come back with new and better ideas to transform the way we do things. We expect this crop of civil servants to be the brightest and the best that we have ever had.

We expect you to be committed to your work; be passionate and transparent in the execution of your responsibilities,” he said.

Earlier, the Head of Service, Mrs Elsie Peters, acknowledged the governor’s visionary leadership, which she said had turned around the service for the better.

Peters added that the quality of the workforce recruited into the system was high, commending the governor for the orientation and training, which she said would revitalise the service for greater achievements.