The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Abia State, Kelechi Anosike, has said that 15,000 civil servants who were allegedly sacked or prematurely retired by the present administration in the state would be recalled if he is elected governor in 2027.
Anosike stated this on Thursday at the NUJ Press Centre, Umuahia, while speaking as a guest during the monthly congress of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Abia State Council.
The PDP governorship candidate, who alleged that the administration of Governor Alex Otti was not practising a system that favoured citizens’ welfare, said it was wrong to sack workers or retire them before their due dates.
“If the rule says you will work 35 years and you retire, or 60 years; if you don’t attain those milestones, a welfarist government will not retire you.
“Inform those 15,000 workers that were sacked before time that Kelechi Anosike will recall all of them.
“Some of them are 50 years, some of them are 52 years. They did nothing, no query, no public inquiry, and you sack them and they are now suffering in their homes,” Anosike said.
He scored the administration of Governor Alex Otti low on the utilisation of funds accruing from subsidy removal, saying that the state government was concentrating its efforts on road infrastructure without adequately addressing other direct needs of the citizens.
He regretted that the level of unemployment in Abia State was forcing youths to move to Lagos and Abuja in search of jobs after graduating from tertiary institutions, but promised to address the challenge through industrialisation and other youth-friendly policies.
He further challenged journalists in Abia State to always ask critical questions about governance, noting, “Journalists are the conscience of society, and not megaphones for politicians.”
