The Edo State government has said that it has no plan to retrench workers in the coming year.
Rather, the government said it has concluded plans to further employ more hands.
Barr. Anthony Okungbowa, the State Head of Service (HOS), disclosed this on Tuesday in Benin, at a meeting with different workers’ unions in the State.
According to him, “The government has concluded plans to further employ more hands in the coming year. The government has no plan to retrench workers but has put measures in place for the training and retraining of every Edo worker to enhance effective service delivery.
“We are moving forward; the world is moving forward and the civil and public service in Edo State cannot afford to lag behind,” he added.
Okungbowa noted that the ongoing reforms by Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration will improve the livelihoods of the people, ensure sustainable growth and development and achieve a progressive and prosperous State.
He further disclosed that the over 300 personnel recruited into the state’s civil and public service by the government in the first phase of the ongoing exercise, was done strictly on merit as the most competent and qualified hands were brought into the service.
While urging the unions to support the government’s drive at repositioning the service, Okungbowa reassured of government’s commitment to improving the state’s civil and public service for effective and efficient service delivery
He therefore called for the support of all stakeholders to sustain ongoing reforms across all sectors of the state, reassuring that the government is committed to realizing the Making Edo Great Again (MEGA) Agenda and achieving economic prosperity for Edo people.
The HOS stated that the meeting was aimed at strengthening the unity that exists between the government and the organized Labour.
According to him, “The industrial harmony that we have in the state today is because of the cooperation that exists between the government, organized labour and various unions. This has helped in deepening the gains recorded by the government across all sectors of the state.”
He further noted that the government has placed emphasis on critical sectors of the state, including infrastructure, education, manpower development, and physical planning, among others.
On their part, the TUC Chairman, Comr. Marshal Ohrue; JNC Chairman, Comr. Oisamaye Godwin and the Secretary, Edo NLC, Comr. Barry Imade hailed Governor Obaseki for prioritizing the reform of the state’s civil and public service.
Among Unions present at the meeting were the state’s chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), National Union of Teachers (NUT) and Joint Negotiating Council (JNC).