The over 2000 Delta state civil servants employed by former governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s administration and sacked by governor Ifeanyi Okowa have vowed to vote out Okowa with their Permanent Voters Cards, (PVCs) come 2019 general elections.
Addressing a press conference at the premises of the old secretariat, along Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan Way, Asaba, chairman of the sacked civil servants, Obukowho Ighesiri Regha, the time has come to take their destinies into their own hands with their PVCs adding that they were not dissuaded nor frightened by the continued pay of deaf ears to their plights by the governor.
“It is pertinent to let the government know that those of us who were employed into the civil service by the previous government led by Dr. Emmanuel Ewetan Uduaghan, that were disengaged by Okowa’s administration has created a network across the three senatorial districts to fight back with the only weapon we have, which is our Permanent Voters Card and probably seek redress in the law court.
“We have called this press briefing to let His Excellency, the Executive Governor, Senator Dr, Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa and his cronies to know that we are neither deterred nor intimidated by his deaf ears to our cries, sufferings and political speeches by some his political loyalists that we will soon be called back for the last three years without an atom of action”.
According to the sacked workers, they are aware that justice is expensive, “hence we are holding on to our voters cards to vote out a government that turned deaf ears to her citizens outcry”, he stressed, pointing out that the affected civil servants have written to appeal to the government through the various institutions in the state, regretting that the institutions seemed to have no say, describing the head of the government (Okowa) as a ‘tyrant’.
“We have written to the House of Assembly that is supposed to be the mouth piece for the oppressed and also to check the excesses of the executive arm of government, but to our greatest surprise, nobody dare see anything wrong with the executive, if you dare, you will be suspended, our petition to the House was never read”, he alleged.
The sacked civil servants lamented that an employment issue which affects citizens cutting across the state, as a normal and well thinking House of Assembly with sense of representing the people, ought to deliberate and come up with lasting solution but rather swept such issue under the carpet, “As a matter of facts, we don’t have House of Assembly in Delta State”, he noted.
The civil servants noted that they were employed on merit, saying that their sack has brought them untold hardship.
Speaking with Journalists shortly after the press conference, an affected civil servant, who gave her name as, Mrs. Josephine Edumor, with five children and a five months baby said it has not been easy.
“For the past nine years I have being seeking and searching for this job and as God will have it about two years ago I was given a job, only for the sitting governor to suspend our job with the hope of him recalling us back. For quite some time now we have being going up and down without a job with this faithful economy, it has not been easy. We are pleading that he should recall us back”.
Mrs. Edumor, who studied Education Economist and was posted to the Ministry of Education worked for one month without pay before her hope was dashed, lamented that she has not being able to support her family as several persons including her mother, niece, an orphan who just secured admission into the Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, Edo State.
“I have lots of nieces, nephews out there depending and believing that one’s aunty is there to support them but today, the job is not forth coming and even when we got one, it was suspended. I got the job on merit and did not pay a dime to secure the job. The advert came up, we all applied and after that we were called for the aptitude test which we did went for and employment came. So, why should I pay any money to get a job? It is uncalled for”, she said.
Another respondent who studied Mass Communication and was posted to the Ministry of Information, Mrs. Ndidi Ayaunor, revealed that she resigned from her former place of work as a secretary for three years at the Asaba Housing Estate, to apply for the job which she secured.
“During April 29 and we were called off, I put in my resignation letter. The day I was supposed to stop work, was the day Okowa suspended the employment. So, it has been tough. During that time, I conceived my baby and couldn’t look for another job then because it wasn’t easy for a pregnant woman to start applying when your pregnancy is showing and I am pleading with him to bring back my job because my daughter is of school age now”.
Responding to the sacked workers shortly after their press conference, the state Commissioner for Information, Patrick Ukah, said, “I am aware that there are some people who were given employment, over 2000 and when we came, that exercise was suspended for government to look into it critically and I am aware that the government is still looking into it very critically”.
Mr. Ukak said there is no question of sacking anybody, “the question was that the employment exercise was suspended. The government has been carrying out some biometrics and we have been doing some verification exercises. There is about 422 people that up till now still in the payroll that have not come to clear themselves and we have just given an extension of time again for them to come and clear themselves”.
The commissioner insisted that the government didn’t sack anybody but that the exercise is been looked into by the government, “and all the exercise that you have seen that is going on now is evident to the fact that we are looking into it”.