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Edo State Sacks 1,861 Civil Servants

Published

10 years ago

March 3, 2014

Indications has emerged that about 1,861 civil servants in Edo State
have been pencilled down for sack. The exercise is a fresh effort by
the administration of Governor Adams Oshiomhole to prune down
the state’s workforce. If eventually carried out, it will be the second
by his administration. Among those earmarked for sack are
magistrates, permanent secretaries, directors and even journalists
working for The Nigerian Observer newspaper, the state’s owned
newspaper.
Sources told The UNION in Benin that among those marked
down for sack include people with false claims in age and academic
qualifications. Their names were said to have been deleted from the
January pay roll of the state government.
However, for the outrage that greeted the exercise, the governor
was to say later that it was not because the government wanted to
sack them but to clear issues surrounding some irregularities
discovered in their ages and qualifications.
The rumours about the impending sack continued to gain ground
despite the governor’s explanation and it is generating not a little
worry and anxiety.
At the time Oshiomhole took over as governor, in 2008, the state’s
workforce was 15,000. This figure was reduced to 5,000 but the
governor is yet not comfortable with that figure which he thinks is
high. Most of the ministries are empty as the Comrade Governor
has not done any major recruitment since assuming office apart from
casual workers under Edo Youths Empowerment Scheme (Edo
YES).
According to reports making the rounds, those pencilled down for
sack include those who have exceeded their statutory time in service
or whose educational qualifications are found to be dubious.
The sack is said to have been recommended by the state Information
and technology, ICT, unit of the Governor’s Office after a
biometric exercise revealed that the civil service was still harbouring
people who falsified their ages to remain in the service. The rumour
became weighty when the names of some civil servants went missing
from the January 2014 salary voucher.
A competent source within the Governor’s office told The
UNION that the whole exercise leaked when the list was handed
to a director in the governor’s office for safe keeping.
Two permanent secretaries in the State House are also among
those to go, while not fewer than seven magistrates are affected.
The state owned media houses – The Nigerian Observer and Edo
Broadcasting Stations (radio and television) – are said to also be
affected.
Most of those on the list are staff of the ministries of Information
and Orientation; Sports and Youths, Water Resources and that of
Justice. Names of some people close to the governor are on the list.
The exercise is part of the governor’s determination to rid the
service of over aged workers.
However, the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress,
NLC, Emmanuel Ademokun, said it is a rumour and has not been
confirmed by the state government. He said if indeed it becomes a
reality the union will not hesitate to call out its members for
industrial action because many ministries are empty and further
retrenchment would leave ministries without workers. He said the
union was adopting a “wait and see attitude” for now.
Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Louis Odion, said
when contacted that sacking of staff to reposition the civil service is
a routine exercise done by government and should not be
misinterpreted.
In December 2013, about 836 teachers were eased out of the
teaching service without sack letters. Their names were simply
removed from the voucher.
During the week, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state
added a political colouration to it by calling on the governor to
immediately recall the teachers who have not been served sack
notices since December last year when their salaries were stopped