Imo State governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, has summarily sacked
over 3,000 workers in 19 parastatals, agencies and departments, as he stopped
their salaries with effect from January 4, 2016.
A Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, source told Vanguard that
over 3,000 workers were affected in the sack. Vanguard gathered that “the
current action of the governor, which not only came on the heels of last
Wednesday’s labour protest in Owerri, headed by the National President of
Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Ayuba Wabba, is also closely linked with the
recent obnoxious form which the administration forced Imo workers to sign
before collecting their unpaid salaries.”
According to a statement by the Secretary to the Government
of Imo State, Sir Jude Ejiogu, the workers caught in the sack-web include the
Imo Water Corporation, Imo Cattle Market, Imo Sports Council, Imo State
Environmental Transformation Commission, ENTRACO, Imo Marketing Company, Imo
Consumer Protection Council, Hospital Management Board, and its headquarters
staff.
Others are Imo Tourism Board, Imo Blue Lake of Treasure, Imo
State Investment Promotion Agency, Imo Job Centre, Imo Water Development
Agency, IWADA, Imo Library Board, Imo Agricultural Loans Board, Imo Livestock,
Imo Poverty Alleviation Agency, Imo Palm Plantation, Agricultural Development
Programme, ADP and Small Holders Unit.
Government explained that the action followed what it called
“a productivity audit recently conducted in the parastatals, agencies and
departments.”
The statement added that “Government is satisfied that it is
no longer in public interest to keep running these agencies, parastatals and
departments with huge cost on public revenue and no services to the public,
under the present economic realities.”
Government promised that the affected workers would be communicated
to in due course, about the administration’s next line of action regarding
possible re-engagement, after the on-going concessioning exercise affecting the
agencies, departments and parastatals.
The affected staff were ordered to handover all government
property in their possession to their chief executives within 48 hours, while
civil servants on secondment to any of the affected agencies, parastatals and
agencies, were deployed to their parent ministries.
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