Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa

 Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, yesterday, presented letters of employment to 1,000 successful young graduates into the state civil service to fulfil his promise to Bayelsa people.

The governor charged the newly employed graduates to adopt healthy work ethics, shun truancy, absenteeism and other acts of indiscipline in the state civil service.

Dickson, who presented the letters amidst cheers at the Diepreye Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall, said the recruitment process that led to the emergence of the 1,000 new intakes was transparent and based strictly on merit.

He said he resisted a lot of calls from people in high places to influence the recruitment process, stressing that no top official of his government had any favoured candidate in the recruitment exercise.

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Dickson said tainted and nepotistic recruitment into the public service must be eradicated to put the state on the desired path of progress and stability.

He warned that civil servants who avoid performance of their duties would be sacked for young and vibrant Bayelsans to take their positions.

He said: “This is the beginning of transparent recruitment into the public service; it is not the first time we would recruit such a large number of civil servants, and it was done transparently. The young graduates who are receiving their letters emerged through a rigorous process of recruitment. This is the first time I directed a comprehensive recruitment exercise. I’ve received a number of calls, some of them from very senior people, pleading with me to take their children and I kept asking them one question: If we continue to listen to those people, what would happen to those who have nobody to speak for them?

“If you go through this list, I never gave any name to the chairman. I don’t know any of you. We have to change these things to take the state to a new level, to create a new Bayelsa. Civil servants who do not go to work will be edged out for young people to come in. If you want to be great, you have to change your mind. We will send away those who don’t come to work for young, vibrant and dedicated Bayelsans to take their place.”