Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has cancelled the 10,000 jobs in the State Civil Service approved by his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, stating that a new recruitment procedure will be conducted.
Remember that during the final months of his administration, Wike allowed the immediate hiring of the aforementioned number of youngsters to fill vacant posts in the state workforce?
However, Fubara announced during an interactive session with stakeholders in Port Harcourt on Friday that he had cancelled the recruitment because the process was defective and compromised by those in charge.
He added that a more transparent process would begin shortly, but expressed disappointment that when the names of those chosen from the 23 local government units were examined, they were persons smuggled in for political favour.
Answering a question, the governor stated, “I know that is the first question, the 10,000 jobs; when we came on board, we already had details that were submitted to us from the 23 local government areas.
“You will agree with me that when we subjected those names to proper scrutiny, most of them—60 percent of them were over-aged.
“They were names that people brought for political patronage. But what we are talking about today is employment for the future.
“I personally, after the analysis of those things, asked, How will you employ somebody who is 52 years old as a civil servant? How many years is the person going to work before retirement?”
Meanwhile, Fubara has stated that the social contract between his administration and the Rivers people will stay unbroken in order to keep governance on a healthy footing.
As a result, Fubara challenged service providers for the Rivers State Waste Management Agency to step up their efforts and ensure that refuse waste is cleaned off the streets as soon as possible in order to keep the city cleaner.
Fubara, who was accompanied by the Head of Rivers State Civil Service, Dr. George Nwaeke, delivered the charge to a delegation of leaders and members of the RIWAMA Service Providers Association on a solidarity walk to Government House Gate in Port Harcourt on Friday.
The governor praised their everyday efforts to keep Port Harcourt’s streets and surrounding areas clean and free of trash.
He stated that maintaining a clean and sanitary environment is one long-term way for a government to stay in touch with its citizens and ensure that they are not exposed to unhealthy living conditions.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
