By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukmeluwa
As part effort towards sanitizing delta workforce and improving productivity. In what appears to be one of the far-reaching crackdowns on civil service fraud in recent years, the Delta State Government has forcibly retired more than 200 civil servants over allegations of age falsification and forged credentials.
The ongoing purge, officials say, is part of a broader reform aimed at sanitizing the state’s workforce and improving productivity.
The startling revelations came to light during a verification exercise led by the Delta State Civil Service Commission, which uncovered that several individuals who should have retired up to five years ago were still drawing salaries, some allegedly even falsifying their documents to stay in service beyond their legitimate tenure.
Chairman of the Delta State Civil Service Commission, Chief Roseline Amioku, disclosed this while addressing reporters at the Commission’s office in Asaba.
She noted that the exercise, though rigorous, was necessary to restore integrity in the public service.
According to her, “We discovered that hundreds of civil servants manipulated their records particularly their age in order to stay on the payroll. Some reduced their age so drastically that their biological children are now seniors to them in service. This is not just unethical; it is criminal,” she said.
The Commission, according to Amioku, acted upon multiple whistleblower reports and undertook a thorough audit of personnel files. “A lot of people blew the whistle. We took it seriously and began to cross-check documents. We’ve barely covered half of the state workforce and already over 200 have been forced to retire,” she said, indicating that the screening would continue until 2026.
She also dismissed claims that the government was using the exercise as a covert method to downsize the workforce and cut costs. “This is not about cutting the wage bill. It’s about restoring credibility to the civil service system and ensuring that those who occupy positions are there lawfully and on merit.”
However, some affected individuals are not going quietly. Several have alleged that the mass retirements are politically motivated and designed to ease out older staff in favor of cronies and younger recruits. One retiree, who asked not to be named, lamented, “They called us fraudsters without even giving us a fair hearing. Many of us have been in service for decades, and now we’re being humiliated.”
The situation is drawing mixed reactions from members of the public. While some have lauded the move as long overdue, others worry it could further destabilize families and communities that depend on civil service jobs for survival, especially at a time of rising inflation and economic uncertainty.
Anti-corruption advocates, however, see the action as a critical test for transparency in Nigerian bureaucracy. “This shows that internal systems can work when there’s the will,” said Ifeoma Nwachukwu, a governance analyst based in Abuja. “But it must be sustained, fair, and transparent, so it doesn’t become a tool for victimization.”
As the screening continues, all eyes will be on Delta State to see if it can strike a balance between accountability and compassion, and whether other states will follow suit in what could become a nationwide reckoning for the civil service system.