Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state yesterday defended the recent verification of civil servants in the state declaring that the exercise has uncovered “some civil servants who are using their children or brother’s certificate.”
This was just as the governor dismissed reports that the government was planning to sack no fewer than 3,000 civil servants, adding that “there is no truth in what they are circulating.”
Oshiomhole said this when representatives of Civil society groups in the state presented a report of their independent committee on government proposed competency test for public school teachers.
He said: “It’s true we have done verification in the health sector, civil service and others, which puts a lie to the claims by teachers that they are being targeted
“And we have discovered some civil servants who are using their children’s certificates or their brother’s certificate.
“However, we have not sacked anybody. If anything, we have directed the Civil Service Commission to employ new hands into the Civil Service. We don’t have a record of taking unilateral decisions on matters affecting workers.”
On the alleged dismissal of 936 teachers, the governor explained: “We have not sacked any teacher. However, we have stopped the pay of some teachers who had issues after the verification exercise.
He said government was favourably disposed to training and retraining of teachers.
According to him, “we have not issued any sack letter or termination letter because we want to handle the issues in the education sector holistically and not piecemeal.”
“But, I still believe that it cannot possibly be in Edo’s long term interest to have the future of the children compromised.”
