The Federal Government has cautioned all Federal Marriage Registrars, who shun acts of indiscipline and misconducts to desist from doing so or be prepared to face the wrath of the law.
Mrs Blessing Lere-Adams, the Director of Press, Ministry of Interior, asserted that the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr Shuaib Belgore, gave the statement when he visited the Jos Federal Marriage Registry in Plateau State.
Belgore explained that the caution came due to a certain record of carelessness which also was the case at the Benin Federal Marriage Registry recently.
“I will reiterate that anybody caught engaging in corruption, absence from duty post, negligence to duties and such likes, will be made to face serious disciplinary actions. You have to do your work, if you do well, you will be handsomely rewarded,” he said, as he assured the Jos registry of the Federal Government’s support.
Dawam Barbara, the registrar in charge of the Jos registry who also spoke at the visit, thanked Belgore and his team for the visit and assured him of the commitment of officers to discharging their statutory duties competently and more efficiently.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on June 4, the federal government instituted immediate disciplinary action against Mr Ozuruonye Chukuma, the Registrar of the Federal Marriage Registry in Benin, for negligence and absence from duty. The offence, the ministry said, constituted acts unbecoming of a public officer in contravention of extant Public Service Rules.
Belgore, who is statutorily the Principal Registrar of Marriages in Nigeria, said the decision was in line with the ethics of the Civil Service which encouraged diligence and discipline in public officers.
The permanent secretary has directed an immediate investigation into the incident and ordered that Chukuma be relieved of his duties as a Marriage Registrar at the Benin Federal Marriage Registry and recalled to the Headquarters in Abuja immediately, pending the conclusion of the investigation.