“Ghost Workers’ smuggled into the nominal roll of Emohua Local Government Council, Only Playing Mind Game.
As the purveyors of propaganda intensify efforts to mislead the gullible with the false news of a purported directive from the Rivers State Local Government Service Commission, reinstating the ghost workers earlier removed by Emohua local government, as circulated on different social media platforms, it is instructive that we keep the people of Emohua local government area and the general public informed with the reality on the subject matter.
It is on the strength of the above that we wish to categorically state the following, in line with the anti-corruption policy of the administration of Sir. Dr. Chidi Lloyd DSSRS:
1. The office of Emohua Local Government Chairman never received any correspondence from the office of the Rivers State Governor or the Rivers State Local Government Service Commission questioning the dismissal of ghost workers or requesting the reinstatement of any or all of the removed ghost workers.
2. The delisting of ghost workers from the council payroll followed the heartbreaking discoveries from the physical biometric exercise conducted by the local government council in line with the anti-corruption policy of the administration of Dr. Chidi Lloyd, aimed at ending the irregularities in the council voucher, which over the years hindered successful administrations from embarking on developmental projects in the local government area. Some of the discoveries from the physical biometric exercise include falsifying employment, promotion, and transfer letters; a situation where over 150 people who were staff of the Rivers State Civil Service, either as teachers or core civil servants, were also pay-rolled as Emohua council staff. The enrollment of under-aged relatives of past caretaker committee chairmen into the local government payroll; a situation where a 6-year-old child of a former caretaker committee chairman (name withheld) was on the payroll receiving money for years. The over-bloating of the council payroll by the management staff; a situation where supposed HLGA, HPM, and Council Treasurer smuggled different account numbers into the council payroll, with which they siphoned the commonwealth of the people of Emohua LGA into private pockets. Other discoveries include situations where individuals received money every month with different bank accounts but with the same name on the same voucher. The biometric exercise also revealed that different persons employed on the same day, with the same qualifications, received different salaries based on favouritism without any promotion letter from the local government service commission.
3. That the physical biometric exercise that led to the dismissal of the ghost workers was not only supervised by the Rivers State government through the representatives of the local government service commission; the exercise was also supervised by officials of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and principal officers of the local government council, including the head of local government administration (HLGA); head of personnel management (HPM), and the council treasurer.
Meanwhile, Emohua Local Government, under the leadership of Dr. Chidi Lloyd, has welcomed the proposed implementation of the minimum wage for genuine civil servants in the local government.
The administration of Dr. Chidi Lloyd is not also against the employment of new civil servants by the local government service commission, but it is important to note that those who were previously smuggled into Emohua local government council payroll and were removed after the biometric verification remain removed.
Recall that some of the removed ghost workers had approached a court of competent jurisdiction to challenge the outcome of the physical biometric exercise, and the court, in its wisdom, dismissed their case for lack of merit.
The administration of Dr. Chidi Lloyd will stop at nothing to ensure that the rule of law is upheld, and any attempt to deviate from the decision of the court will be vehemently challenged.
Emohua Local Government cannot continue to be a free zone for irregularities and corrupt practices; where individuals corruptly enrich themselves from the commonwealth of the people, at the detriment of the development of the local government area. Enough is enough.
The removed ghost workers and their supporters club, most of whom are beneficiaries of the age-long corruption in Emohua Local Government Council, can continue with their mind game, aiming at attracting undeserved attention and sympathy from the gullible.
Dr. Chidi Lloyd is committed to the cleansing of the council’s financial system and will continue to ensure that the right thing is done under his watch to advance development in the area.
The anti-corruption policy of the administration of Dr. Lloyd is not targeted at any individual or group. It is an instrument of visionary leadership deployed to eradicate indiscipline from the management of the local government.
Little wonder why the perpetrators of the campaign of calumny against the person of Dr. Lloyd haven’t been able to accuse the council chairman of smuggling a single name into the council payroll, nor have they been able to deny the fact that the council chairman rewritten the story of Emohua Local Government area with a positive narrative—the narrative of effective leadership and unprecedented infrastructure revolution.
Members of the general public are therefore advised to disregard the fake news of a purported order reinstating those who ordinarily are supposed to be prosecuted for defrauding Emohua Local Government.
Signed.
Bright Jossy-Elendu
Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman, Emohua Local Government Area.
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
