Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, says the cancelled employment process at the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education in Rumuolumeni Community, due to intolerable irregularities, will be revisited and the process restarted.
This is as he assured that a new governing council was now in place to oversee the process and ensure elimination of the irregularities that hampered the previous process.
Governor Fubara gave the assurance at the gates of Government House in Port Harcourt on Monday when he received some protesters who came to register their grievances as victims of the botched process.
The Governor, who was represented by the Head of Rivers State Civil Service, Dr George Nwaeke, told the protesters that it is not correct that the Fubara-led administration had neglected them or abandoned the process.
The governor explained that the employment process was cancelled because what was done contravened the initial approval given to the institution.
Governor Fubara said the management of the institution was directed, based on their request, to employ only 867 staff with 420 of such persons being academic staff, but regretted that the institution employed 1,900 persons with only 123 being academic staff, which was grossly unacceptable.
“Now, during the exercise, they brought the list of the number of people that were to be payrolled. When we look at it, we saw that they have reduced every person as if they were casual workers, which the governor said no, it cannot be so.
“Meanwhile, when we also looked at it, the non-academic staff were now three times the approved number. The academic staff that were brought to us to pay were less than a hundred persons. Prima-facie, the main essence of university is teaching. So, we cannot do without lecturers.”
Governor Fubara urged the protesters to organise themselves properly so that it will be easy to interface with them when the employment process recommences because only qualified persons will be employed within the stipulated number.
“We have a limited number of people that we advertised to employ. But the institution went above that number and took more people. However, it is for you now to form yourselves into an organised group with a leadership, so, we can show you what we have.
“The best case scenario is that now, we have a governing council in place. I don’t know what their immediate plans are but I know that they need lecturers and non-academic staff. That is where we are going to start.
“There are many opportunities that will come to every Rivers person and all residents under this new government,” he assured.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Mr Valentine Kponi Barinedum, said they applied for the advertised positions, duly interviewed, engaged and eventually worked for nine months.
“As Ignatius Ajuru staff, we are here today, we are crying to the governor. If he has said he is the governor of the people, he should make us feel his impact, call us back and pay us. And that is our sole demand.
“We also want our jobs back and our salaries paid. We are here today to plead with you to, please, consider us. We believe that you are going to do the right thing. Please, we are begging you, call us back and pay us our nine months,” he pleaded.