The Rivers State Governor, Sim Fubara says he suspended the employment of 10,000 persons into the state service to give room for the employment of professionals.
Speaking, during the Nigerian Legion Emblem Appeal Fund Launching at Government House, Port Harcourt on Thursday, Fubara said the mass employment were no longer needed as it was not helping the state.
According to him, while the employment of 10,000 persons into the State Civil Service was cancelled, 2,000 professionals have been employed in the health sector, with 1,000 employment slots reviewed upward for the Universal Basic Education and Post-Primary Schools.
He said, “We have gone past the stage where you just employ 10,000 civil servants. It will not help the growth of this State for now.We are going to the general one later. So, that was the reason why I suspended it, and insisted that employment that should be approved, should be those for professional cadre.
“I can say boldly that we have employed over 2,000 medical doctors. The records are there. We have also employed teachers. At least, for UBE, I have okayed the approval of 1,000, which they did before, and we have also asked them to increase the number, both for the UBE and the Post- Primary Schools Boards.
“On the issue of scholarship, Rivers State Government has not started empowering its scholarship board yet. But there are some scholarships that we have offered. We did so in PAMO University, and we also did so recently in Wigwe University.
“So, if it’s those ones, the Rivers State Government has no hand in the process of selection. You have to pass the exams to be on the list of 100-150.
“Otherwise, be patient, when we start our own internal one; the one that the Scholarship Board will do, maybe, the criteria might be different, and we assure you, more persons will be accommodated.”
