Jul 10 2012
Wage Fraud: Dickson Seeks 10-Year Jail Term for Indicted Workers
Segun James in Yenagoa
Governor Seriake Dickson
The state Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, who announced the decision yesterday, when he sent a Bill on “Wage Fraud in the Civil Service”, to the state House of Assembly, said the bill aimed at prosecuting civil servants found to be involved in fraudulent act.
Dickson, who disclosed this while speaking at the fifth edition of the state’s Transparency Briefing in Yenagoa, said though the state had achieved a drop in its bloated wage bill, the proposed bill was to check the activities of fraudulent people whose acts affected the development of the state.
“The Bill to the House of Assembly is to criminalised fraud in the State. While we are doing well to stabilise the state, we believe the state should be regularised by law. If the Bill against wage fraud is passed, those indicted will serve 10years imprisonment, ” he said.
The proposed Bill on Wage Fraud in the Civil Service, according to him, is expected to be a special legal power outside the Criminal Code for the quick prosecution of those indicted. “Let me call on workers that involved in cutting corners to have a change of heart,” he warned.
Meanwhile, Dickson has announced the endowment of a Professorial Chair at the Faculty of the Arts at the Niger Delta University (NDU) in honour of renowned poet and novelist, Gabriel Imomotimi Gbaingbain Okara, as he clocked 91 years.
Speaking at the birthday reception organised by the state chapter of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) to mark Okara’s 91st birthday, the governor noted that although infrastructure such as roads were important to the people, “building and investing in the human mind is more fundamental.”He described Okara as “an icon, a sage and a quintessential Ijaw man”.
Viewed 555 times by 208 viewers
0
