WATCH VIDEO: Sacked Abia Workers Storm ALL FACTS NEWSPAPER Headquarters, Seek Reinstatement
The recently sacked workers in Abia State, has stated that they met all the legal requirements which facilitated their employment into the state Civil Service by the immediate past administration of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu.
Recall that governor Alex Otti through the head of service had in a memo circulated last Friday, ordered the immediate relieve of all staff employed from December 2022 till date into the state civil service.
Storming ALL FACTS NEWSPAPER publishing house on Monday, the affected workers refuted reports that they were recruited into the civil service through employment racketeering which the past administration was accused of engaging in, few months to the 2023 governorship election.
Speaking, the demonstrators’ leader, Sam Kalu from Ohafia revealed that they were not allowed to partake in the online and physical verification exercise of workers.
He pleaded with governor Alex Otti to reconsider his decision of sending them back to the labour market that is already cumbersome, noting that they are ready to cue “into the visionary leadership of the governor”.
Explaining how they were employed, Kalu said they were employed through a waiver by Ikpeazu’s administration, adding that they underwent all the necessary process of employment.
In his words;
“……It was assumed that we are part of the ghost workers or those who joined the civil service through employment racketeering but we want to state that we were not employed illegally.
‘We came in through the proper means of employment having gotten a waiver from the then executive governor, passing through all the interview processes of employment within the confines of the Abia state civil service rules”
“The past administration, knowing that there is high rate of unemployment in the state, also considered that there are persons who ware leaving service, on retirement and they needed to employ persons who will replace these persons ”
Collaborating with their leader on reinstatement, another demonstrator, Harrison Eze from Umuahia, said;
“We are youths; some of us were employed January, February, but we know that in the civil service, when you are duly employed, you should be allowed to continue your good work”.
Another demonstrator, Mrs Noble Delight from Obingwa LGA said;
One of the demonstrators explained that part of the reasons why their employment fell into December 2022, was because the then Head of civil service refused to interview them when they got invites for interviews between September and October, 2022 on the grounds that they did not have their original certificates.
According to him, it took some of them two months to get their original certificates before they were allowed to be interviewed and employed thereafter.
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