Presidency issues Oath of secrecy to staff

By our reporter/ The Presidency on Tuesday issued an oath of secrecy to staff against divulging state secrets to the public.

State House Permanent Secretary, Tijjani Umar who administered the oath alerted staff of the penalties that accrue to a breach of classified documents without authorization, noting that the exercise has become fundamental, particularly to retired staff.

Administering an oath of secrecy to 42 staff at the State House, he disclosed that there has been no record of any breach of information yet, neither is there anticipation of any, but the exercise will continue to put civil servants in check.

Under the Official Secrets Act, 1962, the Director of Special Services Department, Office of the Government of the Federation, Tukur Yahaya, explained to the staff that underwent the sensitization program, that the safety and security of government information, documents and facilities is critical to guarantee continuous delivery of national service.

“We discovered that due to deployment of officers and retirement a number of our staff needs to be placed under the radar so that they will be aware that their jobs, the kind of documents or information they are handling from day to day and beyond, are so important and must be safeguarded,” he said.

“That’s the reason we decided to do the needful by administering the Oath of Secrecy, highlighting the importance of letting them know what information they are managing and the consequences of the breach of such information.”