Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, says some workers, who would be released by the ongoing verification of the civil servants, would be redeployed to teach in the state-owned schools.

Otti disclosed this during his monthly media chat at the Government House in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, on Friday night.

The governor said the affected workers would be redeployed to schools after they had gone through a crash teaching programme.

He expressed shock over the large number of civil servants in the state, saying some of them could be released for other things, where they would be relevant.

Otti said:  “Somehow, we have been under-reporting the number of workers the state has

“We do not think it is a wise thing to look for teachers when we have an over-bloated civil service – the number is humongous.

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“We can’t sack them. They are civil servants and we don’t even want to sack them.

“We want people to get jobs and those that have capacity to teach we can send them to schools because we need teachers.”

Governor Otti also expressed worry over the large number of civil servants attached to the Government House, adding: “I can’t find what they are actually doing.”

He complained that the number was still much even after the Chief of Staff redeployed workers, based on his directive.

The governor, who spoke on a wide range of issues concerning his ongoing efforts to develop the state, denied stopping the recitation of Abia State anthem.

Otti was alleged to have stopped the anthem, which was created by the administration of the immediate past governor, Okezie Ikpeazu.

The anthem became popular among the residents, especially during government functions and in schools across the state.

But reacting to a question on the stoppage of the anthem, Otti said: “Nobody handed over Abia anthem to me.

“So, we didn’t throw away any song or ask anybody not to sing any song.”

He added that his administration initiated a lot of people-oriented programmes since he assumed office about six months ago.

The governor said he had already inaugurated some road projects, pointing out that eight were at different stages of construction, adding that five more roads would be inaugurated before the end of the year.

Governor Otti further stated that the state government was still engaging with stakeholders and would soon make a pronouncement “concerning the welfare and a new minimum wage for civil servants”.

The Star