Blame Fayose, Not Fayemi Over Plight Of Sacked Over 2,000 Ekiti Workers

Ekiti State Chapter of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has said that former Governor Ayo Fayose and not incumbent Governor Kayode Fayemi over the plight of the 2,000 workers whose recruitments are being reviewed.

CNPP appealed to the affected workers to resist being misguided by politicians to protest against the government and cause public disorder in the state.

The government had, at its last week’s state executive council meeting, taken a decision to sack over 2,000 workers employed after the July 14, 2018 governorship election.

Speaking with journalists in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday, the CNPP State Chairman, Deacon Olu Akomolafe, said Governor Fayemi has been magnanimous enough by overlooking some infractions committed in the recruitment exercises and promised to retain those that were employed between 2014 and 2017 when Fayose was in the saddle.

Akomolafe said it was a gross abuse of office and insensitivity for Fayose to have employed people into the state civil service and to keep on paying them manually three years after.

The CNPP boss stated that the present government was circumspect of the civil service rule which stipulated how a legitimate worker can be sacked, saying the step confirmed that those workers were not protected by the rule, being products of illegality.

“From the first term of Governor Fayemi in 2010, every Ekiti worker knows that what qualifies you as a civil servant is the biometric payroll and if you are not captured, you are considered a ghost worker.

“A very large number of the affected persons were not captured on the payroll and this confirmed that they were not legitimate workers.

“Though, as concerned citizens, we are really worried about the plight of the victims considering the economic hardship being experienced, this should not be the basis for illegality in the civil service.

“It also baffled us that Fayose, who owed between seven and nine months’ salary and pension arrears, could go ahead to employ over 2,000 more workers few days to the end of his tenure.

“The affected individuals had got the best advice and opportunity from Governor Fayemi, who advised them to participate in the coming recruitment exercise to be able to achieve their dream,” he said.

Akomolafe added that the whole world, including those who didn’t believe in Fayemi’s political ideology, was aware that Fayose deliberately did the last minute employment to create landmines for the incoming government.