Fresh Biometric For Rivers Workers …As BVN Audit Saves N1bn

A new biometric audit capture for civil servants is underway in the state following success recorded in the recent BVN data exercise, the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr. Austin Tam-George, has revealed.
Briefing newsmen on Wednesday after the weekly State Executive Council meeting in Government House, Port Harcourt, Tam-George, said the exercise is billed to commence in the next three weeks, adding that it’s aimed to checking more fund leakages.
The weekly executive council meeting was presided over by Governor Nyesom Wike and attended by his deputy, commissioners and special advisers.
Tam-George said, “The government wants to have a better data coverage to determine how many people actually work for the government.”
He emphasised that the fund so far recovered from the last Bank Verification Number (BVN) exercise on civil servants indicate that more measures need to be taken to block leakages in the payment system, “especially in this era of dwindling federal allocation.”
Throwing more light on the BVN exercise, Dr. Tam-George revealed that about a N1billion was recovered in the process, expressing hope that a comprehensive data capture will save more money for the government.
Meanwhile, the state government has approved the annexure of the premises of the Dr Graham Douglas Model Secondary School into the Rivers State Polytechnic, Bori.
The commissioner said the decision was approved by the state government as a way to utilize the facility which has not been in use for some time.
Instead of allowing the facility to rot, he said, the complex will now serve as one of the facilities to boost the continuing education arm of the polytechnic.
He assured that the development will boost the academic programmes of the state polytechnic and at the same time check wastage of government property.