In September 2011, the Abia State government directed that all non-indigenes serving in the state’s public service including local governments, should be transferred to their states of origin. Although the decision generated a lot of dust, our man OKECHUKWU KESHI UKEGBU in this piece writes that the state government has began a process of reinstating the disengaged non-indigenous civil servants.
None of the policies of Abia State Government has received more knocks from sections of the public than the sack of Abia non- indigenes from the employ of its public service in 2011.
Abia State Government had in 2011 rolled out a policy, to identify and expel those who are non-Abians but work in the state civil service. The state government urged its citizens to emulate other southeast states which had in the past transferred non- natives to their states of origin.
In a circular entitled ‘Back-loading on Transfer of Non-indigenes” in the Abia State Public Service to their States of Origin, signed by the head of service, G.C. Adiele and subsequently approved by the government, gave backing to the order. The circular states that all non-indigenes in the public service, including local government, should be transferred to their states of origin with effect from October 1, 2011. However, it exempted those working in tertiary institutions but further directed heads of ministries, departments and agencies and the local government service commission to submit the names of all non- indigenes in their employment on or before September 1, 2011. It noted that failure to either comply or any connivance would attract serious sanctions from the government.
Explaining the rationale behind the policy in a radio broadcast on the 20th anniversary of the creation of the state, Governor Theodore Orji said that non – indigenes in its civil service should relocate to their states of origin, saying that the action was not vindictive but to among other things, accommodate many Abia indigenes displaced in some crisis-ridden states.
Orji also said the move would help the state government to implement the N18, 000 minimum wages for its indigenous workers adding that his administration was committed to the payment of the new minimum wage as stipulated in the 1999 Constitution as amended. He said: “we took the action because there are many Abians displaced from the northern part of the country, as a result of the activities of Boko Haram and others like them, who are anxiously waiting on government for re-absorption and rehabilitation.”
The governor noted that it would be difficult for his government to achieve its desire of satisfying its bloated workforce.
“We can only achieve our desire of making our workers happy through the transfer of the non- indigenes in our civil service work force,” Governor Orji further stated.
He continued: “The pupil-teacher ratio in our public schools is not encouraging, indicating that we have so many teachers who are virtually redundant. And the echelon of this profession is predominantly dominated by non-indigenes to the disadvantage of the indigenes who themselves need to be encouraged by promotion so that new people will be recruited to reduce unemployment.”
“Sometimes in the past, Abians working in other neighbouring states were disengaged and forced to return to their states for re-absorption. They were accordingly absorbed and non-indigenes from those states in Abia have since been retained and peacefully accommodated. Now that the state is committed to the payment of N18, 000 minimum wages, the state cannot pay this if we silently continue to bear the burden of accommodating displaced Abians from other states and non-indigenes in the workforce”, he added.
Hardly had the policy been announced than it was trailed by public outcry. A coalition in the southeast known as South East Peace Agenda, SEPA, has threatened a legal action against the Abia State government if it fails to rescind the decision to transfer all non- natives in the state’s public service to their states of origin. In an emergency meeting of the group in Aba, where issues concerning the lives of the ordinary citizens in the southeast zone were considered, the group had noted that the policy was against the peace agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.
The group also entertained the fear that the sack would displace thousands of workers from their legitimate and visible means of livelihood and foresaw a plausible denial of proper compensation of the non-indigenes who had laboured for years in the Abia civil service. It further declared the action as punitive and a brazen breach and disregard to Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution and expressed a view that there is no likelihood that the displaced workers would be re-absorbed by their states of origin, a situation that may lead to explosion of crime and insecurity. On the other hand, the group is of the opinion that the action will sow a seed of discord between Abia and her sister states while the situation will create economic and social disorder in the region.
SEPA, therefore, called on Abia State government to rescind the decision with immediate effect, failure which will attract all legitimate means to stop the unconstitutional action, including seeking redress in a law court.
The then Imo State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dr. Obinna Duruji, was quoted as saying that the transfer of non-indigenes is “anachronistic, patently obsolete and completely reprehensible”. Duruji said that Abia should brace up for a tit-for-tat as Imo would retaliate by disengaging all Abians working in its service. Duruji warned that Imo would go beyond sacking Abians in its public service as it would also sweep out those holding political appointments in the expanded state executive council.
The then Abia State Commissioner for Information, Chief Don Ubani, responded by saying, “The threat of Imo State government to retaliate by sacking Abia workers in her employ is full of emptiness as her sack policy on Abians in her public service nine years ago was comprehensive and left no Abian in her public service.”
According to him, “The fact of the matter is that Abia State government, after an exhaustive consultation with relevant stakeholders in the state resolved to transfer the services of non-indigenes in her public service to their respective states of origin.” He said the Abia State government’s policy was dictated by “compelling” economic realities.
“Unlike the crudeness shown in the disengagement of Abians by other states many years ago, Abia State government exhibited human face in her transfer of non-indigenes by writing to the governors of the affected states on this development while the affected workers were well notified quite a long time before the implementation of the policy,” Ubani said.
It will be recalled that last year, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, enjoined the Executive Governor of Abia State, Chief Theodore Orji, to reinstate all non-indigenes in the state public service who were sacked by the state government.
In a letter signed by its Secretary-General, Alade Bashir Lawal, the union expressed regret that the state government has refused to reabsorb the sacked employees including Abia women indigenes married to “outsiders” despite pleas by the trade unions, religious leaders, royal fathers, human rights organisations and other eminent Nigerians.
The union posited that the action of Orji was fundamentally flawed and urged him to reflect on what would happen if all the other 35 state governors decided to follow his footsteps by sacking all non-indigenes in their public services.
It noted that most metropolitan cities in the world were built by people from diverse backgrounds and cultures who converged in such places to create great civilisations and as such the Abia State Government should allow Nigerians including foreigners who wish to contribute towards the development of the State to do so without any hindrances.
Part of the letter reads: “It may well be that advisers to the helmsmen in Abia Government House subscribe to the pervading culture of impunity that is being entrenched in the administration of public affairs in Nigeria in which the “strong leader” must go on with a policy no matter the monumental opposition against it and in spite of its adverse effect on the citizens because to make a detour is tantamount to being a weakling.”
“In our view, the concept of an infallible leadership which ascribes to itself a transcendental divinity has become obsolete, anachronistic and stands in direct antithesis to democratic ideals of the 21st century despite the plethora of sycophants cheering the “leader” to carry on,” the letter emphasised.
“The union is aware that Abia State indigenes abound in other State Public Services for example Lagos State where a South-Easterner was currently serving second term as the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget. Your Excellency, Abia is styled as God’s own State and we want to believe that in God’s vineyard, people are supposed to be happy having life in abundance and not consigned into living with detestable policies that end up making their lives miserable,” the Union stressed.
In one of their prayer sessions held at the Christ the King Cathedral, CKC Aba, last year, the disengaged workers, numbering over 200 appealed for God’s intervention in the situation.
The leader of the group, Mrs. Fidelia Adaeze Njoku in her speech, observed that the essence of the prayer session is for God to intervene in their plight.
“We are appealing to God to intervene in our situation. About 25 of our colleagues have lost their lives as a result of their disengagement from service. This number is outside 51 pensioners among the disengaged workers. October 1st marked one year in which we were disengaged. We are appealing to God to intervene so that we can be re-instated”, she stated.
Speaking on the theme: “The Will of God shall Prevail,” Evang. Samuel Nwogu of Faith Clinic Ministry, Aba, enjoined the workers to be steadfast in their faith in God.
According to him, the mercy of God will prevail because God has the final say adding: “Your appeal should be directed to God. If God makes a decree, every other decree is subject to it,” he said.
The Igbo National Congress, INC also appealed to the Abia State House of Assembly to begin the process of recalling the disengaged workers.
INC in a communiqué issued at the end of its meeting in Owerri, capital of Imo State regarded the policy as working against the interest of brotherhood of states and capable of generating bad-blood and enmity among indigenes of different states in the future stressing that it has worsened the economic condition of the sacked workers most of whom are daughters of Abia State married to non-Abians.
Recently, Abia State Government said it will reinstate the non-indigenes sacked from the state civil service in 2011 from the implementation of its indigenisation policy.
Addressing newsmen after the state’s executive council meeting, the Abia state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Chief Eze Chikamnayo said the measure was meant to heal the wound caused by the implementation of the indigenisation policy.
He said the policy became necessary due to the challenge faced by the state as a result of huge wage bills from payment of the minimum wage.
The commissioner said that non-indigenes who applied would be given automatic consideration in the civil service or as teachers.
Chikamnayo said the revenue profile of the state had witnessed significant improvement because of measures taken to plug leakages and the introduction of automated tax payment system.
“With the enhanced internally generated revenue base, Gov. Theodore Orji, saw the need to create more job opportunities in order to ensure greater happiness for the people of Abia,” he said.
The commissioner said the creation of more job opportunities would help to engage unemployed youths and indigenes of the state displaced from the northern states due to security challenges adding that the Head of Service and Commissioner for Education had been directed to work out the modalities for new recruitment.
Gov. Orji in his explanation of the reinstatement of non-indigenes sacked from the state civil service said the policy was based on improvement in the state government’s internally generated revenue.
He said they were sacked because the state government could no longer cope with the increase in wage bill occasioned by the new minimum wage.
Orji said the decision to sack the non-indigenes was based on the desire of the state government to regularly pay the salaries of the remaining civil servants.
“When the Federal Government introduced the minimum wage for workers, our wage bill shot up. Our option was to ask the non-indigenes to go back to their states so that we will be able to pay our workers,’’ Orji said.
He said that in taking the decision, it was hoped that the affected workers would be easily absorbed by their home governments.
“Unfortunately, these workers were not absorbed by their various governments,’’ he said, adding that the state became worried by the plight of the sacked workers just as he also told newsmen that the state government would use the open space at the old Umuahia main market to construct a multi-purpose edifice that would beautify the city and raise its status as a state capital.
He described the relocation of the market to Ubani Ibeku, near Umuahia, as “a welcome development’’.
Orji said the new market had modern facilities, social amenities and infrastructure that would make life comfortable for the traders.
The governor blamed the scarcity of pipe-borne water in Umuahia on the activities of vandals.
Orji expressed regrets that hoodlums had continued to vandalise equipment at the state government’s water scheme at Onuimo.
He said the development posed a setback to the efforts of the government to ensure regular water supply to the area.
Saturday Pilot reports that the reinstatement policy is generating some controversies. The reports are conflicting on the natures and scope of the reinstatement and the reason behind it.
Some reports indicated that all the workers have been recalled while some said that those who are interested may apply. The Abia State Commissioner for Information, Eze Chikamnayo was reported to have said that those reapplied may either be reabsorbed in their former positions or posted to schools as teachers.
Writing under the headline: “Orji’s belated penitence”, Emeka Omeihe said: “There are issues to be raised if it is true that the decision to reabsorb the sacked civil servants was due to an unexpected rise in internally generated revenue. It raises the question of bad planning. Modern governments make projections of expected revenue earnings and expenditure and adjust their plans according to such indicators.
Omeihe said that if Abia State really plans for its programme, it was possible to predict that two years after, it would have a huge leap in its revenue base.
He added: “Were that to be, it would have saved itself the embarrassment of having to sack these workers only to discover that it had no need to do so.”
Omeihe capped his argument thus:” If the purported increase in internally generated revenue is meant to justify the earlier adduced for the exercise, I am afraid it has come with additional problems that put the task to competence and limitations of management of the state.”