Rivers job applicants decry delay in recruitment

Thousands of successful applicants in the Rivers State Civil Service recruitment exercise have appealed to the Rivers State House of Assembly to intervene in what they described as a prolonged delay in the issuance of their appointment letters.

The applicants made the appeal during a peaceful protest at the entrance of the official quarters of the Assembly in Port Harcourt on Saturday.

The protesters, drawn from the 23 local government areas of the state, said they had successfully completed all stages of the recruitment process but had yet to receive appointment letters nearly three years after the exercise began.

Speaking on behalf of the applicants, a job seeker, Ajioku David, said the delay had left the applicants uncertain about their future despite fulfilling all requirements for employment.

He called on the Martin Amaewhule-led Assembly, labour unions and other stakeholders to assist in ensuring the successful applicants are employed and allowed to begin work.

David said, “We wish to express our dissatisfaction over the non-issuance of appointment letters to the ten thousand of us who went through all the recruitment processes including the screening and documentation processes since October 2023.

“We want this Honorable Assembly to know that this same recruitment was sufficiently captured in the 2024 Budget and therein stated the process was nearing completion and appointment letters would be issued to all successful candidates soon.

“The abandonment as deliberate delay in our full employment has brought untold hardship to the supposed ten thousand beneficiaries of this recruitment and their hopes of been gainfully employed without clear direction.”

He claimed that Governor Siminalayi Fubara had assured successful applicants during the presentation of the 2024 Budget that appointment letters would soon be issued, but expressed concern that the promise had yet to be fulfilled.

David also noted that while some applicants recruited into the Universal Basic Education and Health sectors had received their employment letters, those assigned to ministries, departments and agencies were still waiting.

“We therefore called on the Rivers State House of Assembly, the labour unions, civil society organizations and all well-meaning Rivers citizens to prevail on the Rivers State government through this peaceful demonstration to release the appointment letters of the ten thousand successful applicants.

“It is also pertinent to point out that the UBE Teachers who were recently employed were among the ten thousand applicants for the recruitment and we believe that what is good for the goose is good for the gander,” he said.

Other protesters also criticised the continued delay in issuing appointment letters and posting successful candidates despite the completion of biometric documentation and repeated assurances that provision had been made for their employment.

They urged members of the State House of Assembly to draw the attention of the government to their plight and ensure the successful applicants are deployed to their respective ministries.

Meanwhile, the protest comes against the backdrop of Fubara’s cancellation of an earlier recruitment exercise approved by his predecessor, Nyesom Wike.

In June 2024, Fubara announced the cancellation of the 10,000 jobs approved by Wike, saying a fresh recruitment process would be conducted.

Wike had, during the final days of his administration, approved the employment of the youths to fill vacant positions in the state workforce.

However, Fubara, during an interactive session with stakeholders in Port Harcourt, said the recruitment process was flawed and compromised.

Efforts to reach the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Onwuka Nzeshi, proved abortive as he did not respond to calls placed to him by our correspondent.

He also had yet to reply to a WhatsApp message sent to him as of the time of filing this report on Saturday evening.