Ekiti Denies Plan To Retrench Workers

Ekiti State Government has dismissed rumours he was planning to sack civil servants in the state.

Rumours have reportedly make rounds courtesy of the opposition, All Progressives Congress (APC) that the Ayodele Fayose-led government had plans to reduce the number of government parastaltals and will therefore cut jobs.

Special Assistant to the state governor on Public Communications and News Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka did not deny a planned reduction of the number of ministries in the state, but said it was being done to ensure effective and efficient discharge of duties.

Olayinka said it did not indicate that some workers would be sacked.

“Workers in the state have nothing to fear, the ongoing exercise of trimming the number of ministries is not an indication that workers are gong to be sacked,” Olayinka said.

“The exercise is intended to make the workers more effective and efficient. Workers will be deployed in a way to get the best out of them.

“The only set of workers that have issues to clarify are those that were employed without due process after the APC lost the June 21 governorship election.

“The proposal before the state Governor, Dr. Ayodele Fayose, is the reduction of the number of ministries and parastatals to reduce cost of running the government, so as to be able to provide more basic amenities for the people.

“The planned reduction of ministries and parastatals is still at the level of proposal that is yet to be considered by the governor.

“It is also important to point out that there is no plan to turn the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) to an agency under the Governor’s Office as being peddled.

“SUBEB is a creation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,  and its funds come directly from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), a Federal Government agency. No governor can scrap it,” the statement read.