- The Abia state government has made a move to sanitize the local government system
- So far about 1,642 fake certificate holders have been uncovered
- The commissioner for local government affairs says he has received death threats
Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state during the gubernatorial campaign
In a bid to sanitize the Abia state local government system, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has thrown his weight behind the implementation of the staff verification exercise which so far has exposed 1,642 workers with fake certificates.
However, Chief Charles Ogbonnaya the commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs, has said the exercise was being threatened.
Speaking to the press on Friday, March 31, 2017 he lamented that the verification exercise was now being threatened by some government officials and other interested parties to protect the fraudsters in the system.
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He even said he had being receiving death threats, saying: "I’ve been receiving knocks here and there with people pouring aspersions on me for, according to them, not doing what I was asked to do. But I leave everything to God and to Abians."
He also revealed that 1, 642 persons were found to have got employed in the local government system with fake certificates while over 300 employees were found to have manipulated the system and extended their service by upwards of three years after they were due for retirement.
It was reported that even the national president of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel had appealed to the governor “to pardon” the indicted workers.
“The unfortunate thing is that they are being covered and protected by the officials of the local government,” Ogbonnaya lamented, adding the official who keep attendance register were found to be signing for the non-existent workers at a fee of N10, 000 each.
The commissioner even said that it was discovered that seven staff members that were either never employed or had since left the employment of Bende local government had continued to collect salaries while engaging in their different pursuits in the United States, Malaysia and other lands.
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Maryleen Ezichi was reported to have been demoted to a classroom teacher for allegedly embarrassing Nkechi, the wife of the state governor Okezie Ikpeazu.
The transfer is alleged to serve as a punishment for her embarrassment and lack of respect for the governor's wife.
NAIJ.com recently covered a protest by members of the NULGE in Lagos. Watch the video below:
