Obinna Odogwu, Abakaliki
Ebonyi State Governor, Chief David Umahi, yesterday, placed embargo on transfer of teachers from one local government area to another.
The governor said since the local governments have gained financial autonomy, continuing to do so would amount to adding to the wage bill of the receiving local government.
This was even as he announced that there would be no more promotions for workers in the state again, except when there is vacancy for such.
He wondered why the wage bill still increased even when workers retire as their time comes.
The governor stated this during the swearing-in ceremony of the newly-appointed members of the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) in Government House, Abakaliki, the state capital.
“Posting of teachers from one local government to the other and promotion of teachers are halted for the main time.
“What we want to do is that between now and Tuesday, there will be a comprehensive re-auditing of all workers of Ebonyi.
“Forms will be filled by the various heads and under it, the workers will do an attestation, which we will register in the court; that ‘should the information I verified here be wrong at any time, may I be sacked with no benefits’.
“Head of service, permanent secretaries of local governments, SSA local government, have to give out the forms.
“I don’t know why salaries, pensions have continued to increase since 2015. When teachers are out of the way and we cannot employ more teachers.
“After the exercise, we are going to give waiver to each local government to employ teachers based on the allocations coming to them. We will also see how we will employ teachers to beef up because
“I believe there is no way salaries and pensions should be going up at the same time. I have told the civil servants and all their operators that promotion is hereby based on vacancy that is available.
“Workers have been cheating us. So, no promotion again unless there is vacancy and we have sent people to go round and they confirmed that promotion is based on vacancy.
“I complained to my fellow governors when we had a meeting; that I pay over N350 million in local governments alone for promotion in one year, and the Lagos State governor laughed.
“He said he paid only N12 million, Zamfara paid only N4 million. I kept wondering why mine was so high. So, promotion is based on vacancy that is available.
“What we will do is that anybody who has taken undue promotion, as the promotion is coming we will be back forwarding it,” he said.