Abia govt accuses Ikpeazu of employing ghost workers, backdating employment letters

The Abia State government has accused former Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of employing many workers during his last weeks in power between December 2022 and April 2023 and backdating their appointment letters to legitimize their illegal appointments.

The state government which was reacting to reports that it carried out a mass sack of 10,000 workers in the state’s civil service, said the figures that were put out in the media was not accurate.

Commissioner for Information and Culture, Okey Kanu, who addressed the issue in a chat with journalists in Umuahia after the State Executive Council meeting on Tuesday, said that some civil servants whose employment were terminated were employed illegally.

Kanu acknowledged that workers who were allegedly employed through the back door by the immediate past administration were the ones who were laid off, insisting that the former administration used the employment of such persons to pile undue pressure on the government that was about to take over from it.

Read also: Gov Otti claims Ikpeazu owed civil servants 30 months salaries, promises to pay before year end

The Commissioner said some workers whose names were thrown up as ‘ghost workers’ during verification exercise in the state were also affected by the sack, while no genuine staff was sacked by Otti’s administration.

“This group comprised those who were illegally employed from December 2022 and up until March and April this year long after the current governor had been declared as the duly elected governor of the State,” Kanu said.

“Some of those in this category had their appointment letters backdated. Their employment letters was surreptitious and a bait with which to pile undue pressure on the then incoming administration of Alex Otti. No responsible government will allow such a situation,” Kanu added.

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