The Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, has stated that his administration’s focus presently is not on hiring new employees for the state’s civil service.
Otti made this remark during the monthly media interaction session held on Thursday in Umuahia, the state’s capital city.
Governor Otti mentioned that the issue of recruitment would be considered after addressing existing challenges within the civil service.
He reiterated the existence of an employment embargo that he had implemented, which remains in effect. Despite the verification process, Otti expressed concern over the high number of individuals in the civil service.
Otti also highlighted the significant monthly wage bill of approximately four billion naira for both the local government and the state. Nevertheless, the governor reassured that efforts were being made to enhance the remuneration of civil servants.
The Abia State Governor acknowledged the presence of employees who may not be performing optimally and stated that measures would be taken to address this issue.
“So, it may not be a priority at this time to open up the doors to bring in new people, except if we have a way of exiting a few people.
“But you know, with the civil service rules, it is not going to be very easy to exit people.
“What we are trying to do with the establishment of the Civil Service Commission and resumption of the new Head of Service and new Permanent Secretaries is to ensure that our people are adequately trained.
“This is to enable them to operate their skills and perform better,” Otti said.
