The Abia State Government has denied reports suggesting that Governor Alex Otti laid off 10,000 civil servants, News About Nigeria understands.
The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Okey Kanu, addressed the issue during an interview in Umuahia.
Kanu stated, “The report on the sack of Abia workers by Gov. Alex Otti is fake and unfounded.” He clarified that the government’s actions were aimed at addressing the presence of ghost workers in the civil service.
The government initiated several measures to rectify the said issue, which included removing the names of ghost workers from the government payroll.
Additionally, during a verification process, individuals who were found to be illegally employed were affected, particularly those hired from December 2022 through March and April of the current year.
Kanu mentioned that some of these civil servants had their appointment letters backdated, and their employment could be characterized as surreptitious. He emphasized that no responsible government would allow such situations to persist.
“The employment of these individuals can be best described as surreptitious and a bait used to pile underserved pressure on the present administration, adding that no responsible government would allow such a situation to continue,” he said.
Regarding the employment of workers between December and April, Kanu clarified that no waivers were applied during the process.
He underlined the existence of established procedures for civil service employment in Abia and noted that due process had not been followed in these specific hirings.
The Commissioner urged the people of Abia to disregard the unfounded reports and assured them that the government was committed to maintaining a transparent and accountable civil service.
