The RIVERS State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has directed permanent secretaries in the state to produce account details of their ministries’ expenditure over the last 18 months.

Wike also advised the permanent secretaries to shun partisan politics as career civil servants, adding that the role some of them played in the closing days of the immediate past administration was politically-motivated.
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The governor, who addressed the permanent secretaries during a meeting at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Tuesday, expressed regret that some of them helped the immediate past administration to illegally withdraw funds from government coffers up to May 28, 2015.

“I want full details and printout of every ministry’s account in the last 18 months. I will not accept any handover note without an accompanying account details.

“The government was coming to a close and some of you were busy signing cheques on 26th, 27th and 28th of May. On May 28, the Transition Committee called most of you and you refused to cooperate because they told you I would not be sworn in,” Wike told the permanent secretaries.

The governor, who promised that he would not embark on a witch-hunt of any civil servant irrespective of his role during the electioneering period, maintained that no civil servant would be allowed to sabotage the efforts of his administration.

He, however, urged the permanent secretaries to work with his administration to revive the state and put back smiles on the faces of the people.

The governor added that all backdated employments and indiscriminate issuance of certificates of occupancy by the immediate past administration would be re-visited.

Wike specifically directed the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands and Survey to produce relevant land documents for examination.

The permanent secretaries were led to the meeting by the Head of Service, Mr. Samuel Longjohn.