Over 3,000 civil servants suspended from the Delta civil service in June 2015 have threatened to shut down the state if Governor Ifeanyi Okowa does not fulfil his promise of re-engaging them into the service within one month.
They vowed to occupy the streets of Asaba, the state capital with their families if nothing is done at the expiration of the one-month ultimatum.
Lamenting that the health condition of some of their colleagues has deteriorated, they said they were deceived in the build up to the 2019 election into supporting the re-election of Governor Okowa who promised to revisit the issue and possibly recall them.
The affected civil servants were employed at the twilight of the former governor Emmanuel Uduaghan-led administration in 2014. But Okowa suspended them on the grounds that the recruitment process was fraught with irregularities.
On the eve of the 2019 election, the governor set up a committee to review the recruitment exercise, a development that excited the affected persons.
Spokesman of the group, Obus Regha, yesterday, expressed shock that the state government had advertised for employment in the agriculture sector when their case was yet to be addressed.
Rising from an emergency meeting in Asaba, Regha said it has become expedient to raise the alarm, adding that nothing has happened since April when they were re-screened.
“We all attended the screening in April, but, till date, nothing has been done. Yet, there has been advertisement for employment in the agricultural sector.
“With rumour going round that government plan to recall only 500 persons, we condemn such action and demand all truly employed Deltans be recalled as we all work for the governor’s re-election,” he said.
In a swift reaction, Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, said government is still reviewing the process, saying report of the review committee has not be jettisoned.
Aniagwu said the governor is responsive and very much aware of the plight of the unemployed, adding that measures had been put in place to ensure Deltans were gainfully engaged whether in private or public sector.
