By Charles Onyekwere, Abakaliki
The Chairman Exco committee on disengaged Ebonyi State University staff sen. Emmanuel Onwe yesterday assured the affected persons of positive resolution
About 63 Staff of the institution were laid off from service in December 2018 for violating the law guiding the school.
Onwe who also is the state commissioner for information and Orientation noted that sack of those employees is not connected to politics as insinuated by opposition party in the state.
He disclosed this in a public hearing organized by the committee at the Mock parliament, Faculty of Political Sciences of Ebonyi State university on Monday.
Onwe however expressed satisfaction with the findings from the hearing adding that it will help the committee to give an impartial report and necessary recommendations to the state government.
” All I can say is that we are going to be objective with all the presentations. “We have seen the thoroughness with which the university did what they did, we have also seen the human impact and we have also seen the individuals that came to throw more light to what happened, all of these things are the factors we are going to take into account and get to an objective impartiality and at the same time give a compassionate report and recommendations to the governor.
“His Excellency saw the necessity to set up this committee so that nobody will go away feeling that he/she has been poorly treated. That is not his style.
“There is no political consideration in what we are doing, this committee was set up a long time ago in fact more than three weeks ago, there were circumstances that made us seek for extension of time and that is why the hearing is taken place today.
Reacting to the insinuation by the major opposition party, the APC, he said: “If the opposition likes it or not, let it bring heaven that I don’t know. Where are they going to find in any part of Ebonyi State. The opposition will still lose election at all levels because they have nothing to offer.
“Anyone who thinks that Ebonyi government and the leader of PDP will degenerate wanting to appease a few staff members just for the basis of political consideration just know who the state governor is. The election of the governor is assured.
Meanwhile the Chairman of the non Accademic Staff Union of Universities, Ebonyi State chapter NASU, Comrade Emmanuel Obo expressed joy that Governor David Umahi kept to his promise and emphasized that the work of the committee when concluded will meet his expectations.
“It will meet up my expectation, because I have been struggling for them to understand the mistake they did by terminating the job of this workers Before his Excellency on 16th of January, I appealed to him to look into this and my joy is that the committee he graciously set up has seen things for itself, they interacted with the staffers whose appointments were terminated and I feel good because this is what I have been fighting for”.
However some of the affected persons Rev. Dr Donatus Njoku who doubles as the secretary of Christain Association of Nigeria, Ebonyi state chapter emotionally described his case as a lion swallowing him, said he was coerced by the panel and finally asked him to produce his testimonial which he later did all for him to receive a letter of disengagement.
Mr John Ugwu was laid off for Multiple date of births while Mrs Justina Nwode was sacked because of falsification which she narrated how the staff audit committee asked her when they saw how sick she was, was why she finished primary school at the age of 8 years.
