Civil servants were locked out and queried when they arrived too late to attend the morning prayers.

Some staff of the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Housing, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, were on Monday locked out and queried for reporting to work late.

The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Ann Agom-Eze said that the measure was in line with the attitudinal change policy of the state governor, Martin Elechi.

“Workers in the state need to grapple with the new policy of work ethics in order to stay disciplined and improve their productivity and efficiency,” she said.

Mrs. Agom-Eze said that the positive changes being witnessed in her ministry are as a result of the attitudinal change policy of the state government which they have imbibed.

“Today, the turn out before our prayer meeting was very low; So, I directed all heads of departments to issue query to all the affected officers no matter their grade level,” she said.

Meanwhile, the ministry has assured land owners in Ebonyi of speedy processing of their land titles and instruments following the launch of automated system in land administration. According to Mrs. Agom-Eze, a lot has changed in the ministry as the issuance of C-of-O and all other relevant instruments are now being done on time.

“If you think it is not moving as it should, you should not hesitate to call on the office of the permanent secretary who will be able to explain exactly the position of your document.

“You should not drop your document and run away. If you do this, there is nothing we can do if you do not find your own,” she said.

NAN