diff --git a/.github/workflows/comment-and-close-reusable.yml b/.github/workflows/comment-and-close-reusable.yml
index afb39676..cfc02e3e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/comment-and-close-reusable.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/comment-and-close-reusable.yml
@@ -1,15 +1,10 @@
 on:
     workflow_call:
-        secrets:
-            DHIS2_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN:
-                required: true
 
 jobs:
     comment-and-close:
         runs-on: ubuntu-latest
         steps:
-            - uses: vardevs/candc@v1
-              with:
-                  close-comment: 'If you would like to file a bug report or feature request, please refer to our issue tracker: https://dhis2.atlassian.net'
-                  exempt-users: dhis2-bot,dependabot,kodiakhq
-                  github-token: ${{secrets.DHIS2_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN}}
+            - run: gh issue close --comment 'If you would like to file a bug report or feature request, please refer to our issue tracker: https://dhis2.atlassian.net'
+              env:
+                  GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/comment-and-close.yml b/.github/workflows/comment-and-close.yml
index 8ee496f7..e7c3f7ca 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/comment-and-close.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/comment-and-close.yml
@@ -5,4 +5,4 @@ on:
 jobs:
     comment-and-close:
         uses: ./.github/workflows/comment-and-close-reusable.yml
-        secrets: inherit
+        if: ${{ !contains(fromJson('["dhis2-bot", "kodiakhq", "dependabot"]'), github.event.issues.sender.login) }}