Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has expressed surprise at the level of seeming hatred among civil servants in the state, saying the state is not cosmopolitan.

The governor said this, at the weekend, during the closing ceremony of a three-day retreat organised by the Office of the Head of Service for all political appointees and permanent secretaries across the three tiers of government.

Mohammed, who was emphasising on re-orientation of civil servants, called for an overhaul of all sectors of the state’s economy.

He said, as a former federal civil servant in Abuja, he never worked with the state, but benefited more from the Bauchi government.

“The rumour and gossip are driving our perception and attitudes even in our offices, and hatred among ourselves. We are not cosmopolitan. I know I am coming from Abuja; I never worked in the state. When I came, I was surprised with the way people hate each other. We have to change. At the federal service, every admin officer is a brother and sister to another. This is not so in the state. We have to love one another; that is the only way,” he said.

The governor also spoke about the decline in the state’s education sector, asking the participants (appointees) how many of them send their children to government schools, despite the huge investment his administration made in the sector.

He lamented the menace of ghost workers, saying it had been difficult for him to employ more workers despite his promise to employ 10,000 workers in the next six months.

The purpose of the retreat, according to him, is to call the stakeholders to a roundtable to provide solutions to problems facing the state.