The All Progressive Congress (APC) in Bayelsa state has faulted as ‘lacking in proper procedure’ the alleged bloated and lopsided appointments into the State Civil Service, ministries and departments including the appointment of thirty-two Permanent Secretaries.
According to the APC, though the party is not averse to such appointments, especially if they are in tandem with civil service rules and regulations, the appointments are in bad taste just as the motive is clearly political and an effort to put the popular in coming government on a bad light by ensuring that we are financially strangulated.
The APC through its state secretary, Comrade Alabo Martins, in a statement issued in Yenagoa, expressed concern over the alleged clandestine indiscriminate employment going on across various MDAs without recourse to due process.
The statement reads in parts: “While we are not averse to such appointments, especially if they are in tandem with civil service rules and regulations, we wish to express our reservation with regard to the timing as the appointments are made less than three months to the expiration of the present administration, immediately after elections.
“We are aware of the recent government special announcement regarding the appointment of thirty two permanent secretaries in the state civil service. We are also aware that there are several clandestine indiscriminate employment going on across various MDAs without recourse to due process.
“If the outgoing administration was aware of the existence of these vacancies in the top echelon of the public service of the state and that the situation was creating a lull in the service, why were the vacancies left unfilled until the eventide of the administration.
“No doubt, the appointments are in bad taste just as the motive is clearly political and an effort to put the popular in coming government on a bad light by ensuring that we are financially strangulated.’
“We appreciate the fact that until February 14, 2020, the present administration has the constitutional powers to hire and fire but this responsibility should be carried out in the best interest of the state and its people. We must say that the present scenario is just for the satisfaction of some political interests and therefore falls far short of the wider interests of the state.
“We advise the Government to concentrate on completing uncompleted projects,such as the 8year old Isaac Boro express way. We also call on bayelsans to hold the restoration government response in the future if some of these decisions are reviewed for the betterment of Bayelsa.
‘We are aware that employment is a means of empowering citizens of the state, mostly the youths. It curtails restiveness and other social vices in the state. However, the employment of the the restoration government does not follow acceptable procedures, apart from the Forest Officers and few others.
“The government did not lift embargo on employment until January this year when one thousand graduates were employed. But, pockets of employment were carried out from time to time with names directly forwarded by His Excellency the outgoing governor.
“The employment is supposed to be on geographical spread, to the 8 local governments. But, it seems to be one sided. Some local governments are having more slots than others. Some communities are having more slots than others. In some cases, a whole family was considered. The rules and procedures do not allow applicants to apply for employment directly to the Governor. But, this is practice in the state,” the statement reads.
