2,783 LG workers face sack in Ekiti •No it’s not true - Govt •It’s wicked Xmas gift - PDP

THERE is tension in Ekiti State as a hammer is now dangling on the head of 2,783 local government workers in the state.

This is following a directive of the state government on Monday that the 2,783 workers should produce documents to authenticate their appointment into the state Local Government Service Commission.

It was gathered that the government had also declared that no less than 1,511 of the number were allegedly appointed into the local governments illegally, while 593 had been declared redundant.

A circular signed by a Director in charge of Appointment and Posting, Mr David Jejelowo, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Local Government Service Commission, also disclosed that 357 workers had been listed as those who were allegedly promoted beyond bar.
Also, in the widespread changes contained in the circular was the redeployment of council workers with National Certificate of Education (NCE) and Bachelor of Education degree to the State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB) and Teaching Service Commission respectively.
Some workers in the health department of the 16 local government areas of the state were also redeployed to the newly created Ekiti State Primary Health Development Agency.
Those said to have been illegally employed were given up till today to tender their letters of approval, while the directors of administration in each of the councils were asked to forward the minutes of the meetings in which the decision to appoint them was either recommended or approved.
The minutes were to be presented on or before  December 19, according to the directive, while those referred to as “redundant” were asked to produce their letters of appointment, confirmation of appointments and educational certificates to the commission.
Meanwhile, the state government has assured local government workers of security of their jobs, saying it has no intention of sacking them.
Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mr Funminiyi Afuye, in a statement on Tuesday, said the clarification became necessary, following what he called “wicked rumour” being peddled by the opposition that there were plans to sack council workers.
While urging local government workers and the generality of Ekiti people to ignore the sack rumour, Afuye said the state government still stood on the agreement reached with the workers’ union, which led to the calling off of the last industrial action early November.
Describing opposition politicians, whom he accused of sponsoring the rumour, as a “gang of liars,” Afuye explained that what government only did after the strike was to post some workers to the areas where they would function optimally.

According to the government spokesman, council workers with education-related certificates were posted to schools to work as teachers, while those in the council’s health sector were redeployed to the Primary Health Care Development Agency.

“We urge the general public, especially the local government workers to be wary of the antics of the opposition who are desperately looking for undeserved relevance,” the commissioner stated.

Also, the secretary of the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Mr Victor Adebayo, has described the action as “surprising,” adding that “the union will not fold its arms and allow government to sack its members unjustly.”

The NULGE scribe said: “Declaring some people as illegal employees in the local government sector without carrying NULGE along is surprising, because we don’t know the documents the government is relying upon to do all these restructuring programmes. We agreed that we should be carried along in the restructuring programme, but government decided to do it all alone and this, to us, did not conform with due process.”

Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Mr Makanjuola Ogundipe, in a statement by his media aide, Femi Omolusi, described the development as “a wicked Christmas gift to the local government workers.”

“ and it shows that Governor Kayode Fayemi and his party Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) are the enemy of entire workers in the state.”

According to Ogundipe “over 4000 were sacked for no reason while over 4,000 were demoted from level 12 to 8 and some from level 8 to 4 while those workers that have 10 years in service were forcefully retired and over 4000 workers that have NCE and B.Ed have been redeployed to SUBEB and Teaching Service Commission, purposely to write exam and those that fail will be sacked. This act is evil.”

He appealed to government to stay action on the matter to dowse the rising tension in the state, and promised that the body would contact NULGE headquarters for the next line of action.

Meanwhile, the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the government action as “wicked and inhuman,” alleging that it was the “sacking and demotion of over 8,000 local government workers in this yuletide.”