Governor Alex Otti of Abia has clarified that employing new individuals in the state’s civil service is not currently a top priority for his administration.
The governor conveyed this stance during a monthly interactive session with the media held on Thursday in Umuahia.
He emphasized that the issue of employment would be addressed once the government concludes its efforts in restructuring the existing civil service framework.
Governor Otti highlighted the presence of an existing employment embargo, which remains in effect until further notice.
Expressing concern over the persistently high number of personnel within the civil service, even post-verification, Otti underscored the significant wage bill, totaling about four billion naira monthly for both local government and state employees.
Despite these challenges, the governor assured that the government is diligently working towards enhancing the remuneration packages for civil servants.
He acknowledged the need for optimizing workforce productivity, recognizing that certain individuals within the service may not be operating at their fullest potential, indicating plans to address this issue.
He said, “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.”