Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has announced the lifting of the ban on promotion in the state civil service.
Governor Wike made the announcement at the 2019 Workers Day celebration in Port Harcourt.
The Governor, who was represented by his deputy Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, said he has already directed the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission to conduct interviews with the view of promoting deserving workers.
The Governor also disclosed that he had directed to Civil Service Commission to commence the process of recruitment of Rivers indigenes into existing vacancies.
The State Chief Executive also disclosed that Government has started implementing the N100, 000,000.00 interest free-loan to civil servants in a bid to advance the welfare and wellbeing of Civil Servants.
Governor Wike also promised to pay the new minimum wage as soon as he receives the official transmission from the Federal Government while noting that the Pension Reform Bill before the State House of Assembly when passed into law would bring into existence a seamless and positive scheme for workers in the State.
“We are also strengthening our educational system to ensure that our graduates are imbued with appropriate skills and the mindset to become job creators rather than job seekers and will also continue to implement effective policies and programmes that will address and lift our people from poverty to economic prosperity,” Governor Wike further stressed.
Earlier, the labour movement in the state expressed doubt over the workability of the reformed pension law recently passed by the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The State chairman of the Rivers state council of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Beatrice Itubo, while delivering her address at the 2019 May Day celebration in Port Harcourt, wondered where the government would get the fund to pay the counterpart fund.
The Labour leader however appealed to the state government to immediately sign the bill into law while hoping that the government is sincere in its promised to fully implement the law.
The NLC Chairman also appealed to the state Government to conduct recruitment exercise for the teeming Rivers youths in order to reduce the rate of crime in the state.
The theme of this year’s May Day celebration is “100 years of struggle for job dignity and social justice in Nigeria.”
