The Ekiti State House of Assembly has reportedly sacked no fewer than 180 employees hired by the administration of former Governor Kayode Fayemi.
Punch reports that the announcement was made on Monday by the leader of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction in the legislature, Dele Olugbemi, during the monthly prayer meeting to usher in the New Year at the Assembly.
Olugbemi, however, hinted that the affected employees were sacked over alleged irregularities in their employment. He said the measure became imperative in order to rid the system of irregular employment.
Olugbemi, who confirmed the development to newsmen on Wednesday, said the affected workers were brought into the system through the backdoor in the last days of the past administration, adding that they were illegally employed in August and September by the then House of Assembly Service Commission chaired by Chief George Ojo, due to alleged pressure from some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“I want to say that their employment was irregular and the best we can do is to implement the law and that is by sacking them. At the tail end of the last administration, they hired all these employees. The top members of the APC then shared the number and brought them even when they knew that another government was coming on board. All they wanted to do was to create problems for Governor Ayodele Fayose. They wanted to put their people in positions here and increase the overhead cost that would be difficult for this government to bear,” he said.
Meanwhile, some of the affected workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, insisted that they were properly employed by the immediate past administration, and pleaded with the government to rescind its decision in the interest of peace.
It would be recalled that shortly after Fayose’s inauguration his administration reportedly sacked about 800 Peace Corps members and over 300 employees of the Ekiti State Traffic Management Agency over similar complaints.
The government which has stopped paying N5, 000 monthly stipend to about 20,000 aged people, recently slashed the salary of the 700 sweepers employed under the Ministry of Environment from N10,000 to N5,000.
Meanwhile, the state chapter of the PDP has declared that it would win all seats in the forthcoming National and State Assembly election as well as record overwhelming victory for President Goodluck Jonathan in the state.
