The Ogun State Head of Service has banned staff of the state civil service from giving out information about the activities of the state through social media
The state says it is now a crime for any staff to reveal official secrets of government
This is as the Ogun State Head of Service (HoS), Tpl. Amope Chokor, warned workers in various agencies, who are in the habit of posting circulars or correspondences meant for internal consumption, on social media, to desist from such acts.
Chokor, who gave the warning during a meeting with the Permanent Secretaries in her office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta on Tuesday, emphasised that the state’s civil service is strictly confidential.
According to her, posting of official correspondences on social media is a breach of the civil service rules and regulations, warning that anybody caught in such acts would be dealt with.
Sounding a note of warning, the Head of Service ordered the Permanent Secretaries to caution officers under them and discipline anyone caught in the act.
She said: “We are in the age of social media and we just find our circulars on the internet; this is wrong. Tell our Officers that circulars or correspondences are not meant to be seen on the internet. Some officers don’t know that there is confidentiality in the civil service.
‘’You have a responsibility to let them know, caution them. The system should not deteriorate because we are supposed to be the custodians of the ethics of the civil service.”
Chokor called for a retreat, especially for the new entrants, on the rudiments that would enable them to be disciplined and committed, maintaining that the system should be guarded with integrity and diligence, which the state’s civil service is known for.
Newsmen recall that a circular from the Ogun State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology surfaced on the internet in August 2019, wherein it was stated that Governor Dapo Abiodun had approved the payment of N3,700 as donation payable by pupils in the state public schools for PTA levies.
The circular with reference number, EDU.655/5 and dated August 27, generated reactions, compelling the state government to suspend the N3,700 at the time.
