The Federal Government has lauded the Gombe state government for its comprehensive public service reforms to enhance quality service delivery to the people.
Dr Dasuki Arabi, Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reform (BPSR), said this in Gombe on Thursday during a courtesy visit to the Gombe State BPSR Headquarters.
Arabi praised Gov. Inuwa Yahaya for establishing the BPSR in the state, and driving digitalisation, efficiency and worker welfare since 2019.
He said the state was already reaping gains of embracing reforms in public service which impacted governance, making Gombe a model to other states.
The DG said that part of the reforms that Gombe initiated using technology resulted in the introduction of biometric attendance in civil service which addressed absenteeism.
He highlighted that the biometric improved efficiency and effectiveness in public service delivery as well as tackle ghost workers.
According to Arabi, the reforms including digitalisation of system and operation is part of the reason for the improvement in revenue collection in the state from N6 billion in 2019 to N40 billion in 2024.
He said that with the digitalisation of government operations, forgery and other sharp practices had been tackled and revenue collection improved.
Arabi said that the progress made by Gombe State through the reforms resulted in the state being ranked 8th at the BPSR 2025 edition of the Transparency and Integrity Index (TII).
He described the index as a vital tool for strengthening accountability, openness and ethical standards across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The BPSR helmsman said the state government’s effort at building stronger institutions for a more accountable and prosperous state and a culture of openness and responsibility that inspires public trust, has become a model to others.
Arabi, however, urged the state to sustain the feat and work towards full digitalisation of payroll management as well as record systems yet to be digitalised.
“I also call on the state to carryout a deep staff audit and do a skills gaps analysis to indicate where we need to improve and who we need to manage certain areas,” he said.
Mr Abubakar Hassan, Director-General, Gombe State BPSR, said the reforms were made possible as a result of the political will of the governor.
Hassan highlighted how the reforms helped improved the transparency rating of the state, stressing that many development partners were in the state because of the open governance style of the Yahaya-led administration.
According to Hassan, the government is working hard to replicate all reforms by the federal government at the state level to deliver better services to the people.
“Today, Gombe is a model because of our bold reforms initiated by Govenor Yahaya which has helped us in revenue collection, land administration, civil service digitalisation, budget process, elimination of ghost workers syndrome amongst others,” he said.
Hassan pledged to continue to initiate and implement reforms to build strong institutions, entrench the culture of open governance and inspire public trust.
