Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has approved the appointment of 19 new Permanent Secretaries into the State Civil Service.
The state government disclosed on Monday that the fresh appointments were made to fill existing vacancies within the civil service and strengthen the administrative machinery of the state for effective and efficient service delivery.
Announcing the governor’s approval, the Head of the State Civil Service, Prof. Mu’azu Shehu, explained that the appointments became urgent following a critical shortage of Permanent Secretaries, as well as the recent creation and restructuring of several state ministries.
He noted that filling these leadership roles would provide the newly structured ministries with competent administrative heads who can effectively drive the government’s policies and mandates.
Speaking on the criteria used for selecting the new administrative heads, Prof. Shehu emphasized that the appointments were strictly merit-based, while also maintaining equity across all local government areas in the state.
He noted that the elevation of the senior officers followed a thorough evaluation process that considered their track records, professionalism, and long years of dedicated service.
Shehu said: “The officers selected for the appointments were drawn from 11 Local Government Areas, with due consideration given to geographical spread, professional experience, competence and the specific requirements of the various ministries.
“The officers were carefully assessed and found suitable to occupy the positions, having acquired relevant experience and demonstrated commitment, professionalism and capacity in their respective areas of service.”
The Head of Service added that the clean service records and high performance ratings of the selected candidates provided a solid justification for their elevation into the Permanent Secretary cadre.
The 19 newly appointed Permanent Secretaries and their respective Local Government Areas (LGA) of origin include:
- Akko LGA: Haruna Mohammed Danburam, Mohammed Auwal Ahmed
- Balanga LGA: Alheri Yoriyo, Haruna Bello Gelengu
- Billiri LGA: Ruth Caleb Maina
- Dukku LGA: Auwal Abduljalal, Kasimu Umar
- Funakaye LGA: Musa Muhammad Babaji, Adamu Audi
- Gombe LGA: Dr Hadi Mohammed, Ali Yaya Ahmed
- Kwami LGA: Kabiru Mohammed Mahdi
- Kaltungo LGA: Balarabe Musa, Tabitha B. James
- Nafada LGA: Haruna Dadum Hamza, Ibrahim Mohammed Gombe
- Shongom LGA: Tahir Adamu Sadiq
- Yamaltu-Deba LGA: Shuai’bu Chiroma Muhammad, Musa Idi Batari
Charging the newly elevated civil servants to hit the ground running, Governor Yahaya urged them to deploy their wealth of administrative experience to transform the state civil service into a more responsive and results-oriented institution.
“Governor Inuwa Yahaya expects the new Permanent Secretaries to bring their wealth of experience, professional competence and proven capacity to bear on their new responsibilities, while contributing meaningfully to the administration’s objective of building a more responsive, efficient, professional and results-oriented civil service,” the statement added.
The state government confirmed that all 19 appointments take immediate effect.
