The Abia State Government has denied the recent reports suggesting the dismissal of a 10,000 state workers in the employ of the State, clarifying that the claims are entirely baseless.
Instead, the government contended that the situation primarily involved the removal of “ghost workers” from the state’s payroll, as well as addressing the issue of illicit appointments.
The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu made the clarification on Tuesday, in an interview with news men in Umuahia.
Kanu who firmly debunked the rumors surrounding the alleged mass layoffs, stressed that the government had taken measures to rectify irregularities in the state’s employment records rather than executing such substantial workforce reduction.
According to Prince Kanu, the origins of the misconception can be traced back to individuals who were improperly included in the state payroll.
He further revealed the the state government had during the comprehensive verification exercise conducted,discovered that certain workers had been illicitly employed,specifically, those hired between December 2022 and April of the current year were affected by this discovery.
He said that the employees were found to have had their appointment letters backdated and emphasized that these employments did not adhere to the officially established procedures for Civil Service employment in Abia State,adding that no waivers were granted in these cases which raised concerns about the transparency of the appointments.
“Some workers whose names were thrown up during the verification exercise embarked upon by government as illegally employed were affected too. This group comprised those who were illegally employed from December, 2022 and up until March and April this year, long after the current Governor had been declared as the duly elected Governor of Abia State.
“Some of those in this category had their appointment letters backdated. Their employment was surreptitious and a bait with which to pile underserved pressure on the then incoming administration of Dr Alex Otti, OFR. No responsible government will allow such a situation to subsist“.
The Information Commissioner therefore urged citizens and residents of the state to disregard the false report of mass layoff and assured them of Governor Alex Otti’s unwavering commitment to the welfare of both current and retired workers.
He underscored the governor Alex Otti’s determination to settle all outstanding salaries and pension arrears owed to workers and pensioners in the state.
