In what looks like reading the riot acts, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State on Monday warned civil and public servants on the state’s payroll to avoid partisan politics and also stop lobbying his office for juicest positions.

Governor Dickson said those caught will be punished according to the civil service rule, saying that civil service as the engine room of any administration does not need unnecessary distractions.

The Governor, who stated this during his media interactive sessions with civil servants in the state, also used the opportunity to announce the suspension of four top civil servants for  various acts of indiscipline.

The affected workers are; Mr. John Appah, Surveyor Ngibina Kopul, Ransom Temerigha and Akpoebi Ifidi.

Their offences as disclosed by the Governor ranged from employment racketeering, indiscriminate allotment and allocation of land against the masterplan of the City Council Development Authority and act of insubordination.

Expressing the readiness of his administration to partner with the workers in the State, the governor said his administration would not condone any act of indiscipline such as truancy, lateness to work and financial impropriety.

The governor said that anybody caught in the act of mismanaging public fund would be dealt with in accordance with the law, disclosing that his administration has been able to gather reports on the alleged fraud being perpetrated by some workers.

“Those who go on committing payroll fraud, their cup shall be filled soon but on a serious note, the Head of Service should help us, we want to see how we can reduce the huge wage bill,” he said.

On the alleged participation of workers in partisan politics, the Governor advised that any worker that want to take part in active politics should resign his/her appointment in accordance with civil service edict, threatening that anybody that fails to heed to the advice would be shown the way out of office.

His words: This government will not condone any act of indiscipline. Anybody that wants to participate in politics should resign his/her appointment and join us at this side of the divide. Some of you, I learnt have purchased nomination forms for the next local government election without resigning their appointment.

“When you are tired as a civil servant, you resign or retire and come and join us in the ‘roforofo’ work. But as long as every day and every month, you go and collect salary and claim arrears. You are a civil servant, you must give us the work of a civil servant,” he said.

“Hon. Dickson said the contribution of the civil servants in the state is critical to his Restoration Agenda, adding, you are the engine room. It is you and you alone who will determine the success or failure of government.

“One thing, I want to leave behind, if you will all support, I will like you all to become better civil servants so that whoever comes after me will meet a better civil service than I have met. That, I think is basically the thrust of this interaction”.