..PDP kicks says action unlawful, insensitive, callous

Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has ordered the immediate termination of all employment in the State Civil Service made by the last administration in the last year.

The Governor’s directive which was contained in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, issued Wednesday in Makurdi, had among others also ordered the reversal of all promotions to the rank of Permanent Secretary made by the outgone administration from January 2023, directing that all those affected revert to their previous positions.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, however, condemned the sacking of the civil servants describing it as unlawful. insensitive and callous.

The Governor in the statement had said, “All recent appointments into the State Civil Service made by the outgone administration from May 2022 to date are hereby nullified with immediate effect.

“All those who have retired but are yet to vacate their offices or duty posts either because of extension or contract appointment are to proceed on retirement forthwith. All Civil Servants due for retirement but are yet to tender their letters of retirement or notice of retirement should do so forthwith and proceed on retirement immediately.

“All Civil Servants and or persons appointed Permanent Secretaries from the month of January 2023 to date should revert to their previous positions forthwith.

“And all the postings and transfers made in the state civil service from October 2022, to date are hereby nullified. The affected staff should revert to their former ranks, stations or offices with immediate effect.”

But briefing the media on the development in Makurdi, the acting State Chairman of the PDP, Mr. Isaac Mffo who noted that the action of the Governor was unacceptable as the affected civil servants were lawfully employed, called for a reversal of the directive.

According to the acting Chairman, “the affected civil servants were given lawful appointments into the state civil service having fulfilled all statutory requirements and until this directive was entitled to all the rights, privileges and protections guaranteed them under the labour laws of the state.

“This is to say that loss of such rights, privileges and protections cannot be at the whim of anyone, no matter how highly placed, including the governor, but can only be for reasons prescribed under the same laws, which do not include the action taken by Governor Alia.

“The insensitivity in the Benue State Governor’s action becomes more glaring when viewed against the backdrop of the untold hardship which Nigerians were subjected to under the recently expired Buhari regime in the forms of catastrophic economic mismanagement and the insecurity that directly threatened the country’s sovereignty.

“Governor Alia, being a direct offshoot of the cruel and visionless Buhari regime, should be threading cautiously as Governor of Benue State so as not to aggravate the pains and sufferings inflicted on the people of the state by that regime.

“Perhaps the Governor needs to be reminded that to the eleventh hour of his tenure, outgone President, Muhammadu Buhari made appointments into the federal civil service which President Tinubu has inherited and is working with.

“PDP observes sadly that by this latest sack order, Governor Alia has continued by the wrong footing of his administration so far, by executing weighty actions without following due process of consultations and interactive engagements needed to input into those actions necessary public content and connect as should obtain in a participatory democracy such as ours.

“We condemn all the misguided, arbitrary and unpopular actions so far taken by Governor Hyacinth Alia and we call on all who mean well for Benue State to do the same. This arbitrary sack order on Benue civil servants and those issued earlier to heads of Agencies and Parastatals in the state only opens the gateway to possible litigations which will not be in the interest of the administration and the state at large.

“Governor Alia should, therefore, without delay rescinds the sack order he has issued to the thousands of civil servants in the state, as to do so will be to save his administration and the state as a whole the ill wind which the action is bound to generate which will surely do no one any good.”