The National Industrial Court in Port Harcourt has struck out the suit challenging the sack of ghost workers and the demotion of illegally promoted staff of Emohua Local Government Council by the administration of Dr. Chidi Lloyd.
The judgment was delivered visually by Justice Polycarp Hamman on Thursday, February 1, 2024.
The plaintiffs, which include one Solomon Erim and eighteen others, filed a suit against Emohua Local Government Council, the Local Government Chairman, Chidi Lloyd, and the Rivers State Local Government Service Commission over alleged demotion and deduction of salaries, as well as alleged unlawful sacking in 2021.
Recall that the administration of Dr. Chidi Lloyd carried out a biometric verification exercise in 2021 to ascertain the true wage bill of the local government following the inability of the Local Government Council to embark on people-oriented projects, which was occasioned by the irregularities in the council before the inception of the administration.
The biometric verification, which was supervised by auditors from the Rivers State Local Government Service Commission, availed the council the opportunity to identify ghost workers and other irregularities in the council payroll, including illegal promotions and duplication of salary accounts in the council voucher.
Consequently, the ghost workers who couldn’t provide evidence of their employment by the Local Government Service Commission were sacked, while the staff who were corruptly promoted without the authorization of the commission were returned to their original grade level on the council payroll.
Reacting to the judgement, the chairman of Emohua Local Government Area, Dr. Chidi Lloyd, said that with the judgment of the Industrial Court, the council will now institute legal action against the sacked and the aggrieved staff for defrauding the local government and make them return all the money that was illegally and criminally paid to them before the biometric verification exercise.
Bright Jossy-Elendu
Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of Emohua Local Government Area.
Thursday, February 1, 2024
