The Ogun State government took its workers by surprise on Monday as it locked out some workers at its Oke Mosan secretariat to drive home its belief that punctuality is the soul of business.

The gate exercise which the Head of Service, Mrs. Modupe Adekunle, affirmed would be a continuous exercise, had the two gates leading to the expansive complex locked at exactly 8 a.m., a development which caught hundreds of the workers in different cadres unaware.

Apparently miffed by the number of workers caught in the web, the Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Taiwo Adeoluwa, decried the late coming attitude of the workers, warning that government would not condone their nonchalant attitude to work any longer.

He noted that the civil service rules and regulation on punctuality were clear and unambiguous, urging workers to adhere strictly to them to avoid sanctions and other penalties.

“This action is a routine exercise to ensure that civil servants know the essence of punctuality and imbibe it as a virtue and not aimed at frustrating or scaring anybody. If Governor Amosun could make it to the office before 7:30 am, there can be no excuse for anyone who comes late to work,” the SSG noted.

Also reacting to the development, the Head of Service, Mrs. Modupe Adekunle affirmed that all the late comers would be issued queries accordingly, adding that, The query would be followed to the letter in line with civil service rules”.

The Head of Service pointed out that all Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Department had been instructed to submit the day’s attendance registers of their respective agencies to her office for necessary actions against those that got to the office late.