The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Issa Bawa, told reporters yesterday in Ilorin, the state capital, that he interacted with the blind driver during the exercise.

He said: "I was at the Ilorin South Local Government Council and I saw a blind man coming for the exercise. It was his son that brought him and I asked him, 'daddy, why are you here?' He said he came for the verification because he is a worker in the employ of the council.

"I asked him what is his position and he said he is a driver and has been working with the council for over 25 years. I told him to go and see the consultant. We have several cases like that.

"Also in the same council, some people came in a chartered bus from Lagos. They said they came for the exercise."

Bawa, who spoke after the state executive council meeting, said embargo has been imposed on employment in the local government councils and the primary education institutions managed by the Kwara State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB).

He announced a long-span audit of personnel in the mainstream civil service and the pension scheme. 

A medical board was reconstituted to investigate the health status of government workers.

The decision followed an investigation of the employment status at the 16 local government councils, which led to the discovery of several irregularities.

Of the 38,000 council workers on its payroll, only 36,000 showed up for the biometric investigation conducted by the government. 

Bawa said as a result of the findings by the government consultant and a subsequent review of its recommendations by a White Paper committee, the government approved the setting up of a committee under the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) to implement the recommendations.

He said: "It was agreed that the local governments are overstaffed. Absenteeism was also discovered to be very high among them. There was also the issue of overaged workers as well as some underage employment. We discovered 29 underage workers who came for the verification." 

Bawa said as part of efforts to deal with the challenges, his ministry has introduced attendance clocking by workers, which must be done at the start and close of work each day.

The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Prince Tunji Morohunfoye, who attended the exercise, described the development as sad.