THE TIDE

The Rivers State representative in the selection committee on Federal Government Special public works programme. Bar Erastus Awortu says the All Progressives Congress, APC, is playing politics with 23,000 job chances allotted to the state.
Awortu made this known yesterday in an interview with The Tide in PortHarcourt.
According to him, the entire process of the exercise has been hijacked to favour only members of the APC in the state.
Awortu who is also the Special Adviser to the state Governor on NDDC Matters and Relations, alleged that the state committee chairman, who is also a member of the APC connived with his party members in the committee to earmark only 700 out of the 1000 slots per local government area without a defined criteria.

According to him, nothing was discussed on how the remaining 300 chances per LGA would be distributed.
The State representative also alleged that the committee chairman directed over 5000 forms to be issued for only 700 slots just to deceive the Masses across the 23 local government areas of the state.

“Imagine where 5000 people apply for 700 slots in an L G A, how do you justify such callousness? This amounts to using a noble policy to rob the already impoverished people.

“It is so because the APC in Rivers state has already distributed these forms and collated names for this programmes and will simply submit those names as the shortlisted names.” Awortu alleged.

He further alleged that APC in the State sidelined members of the committee who are not members of APC from some crucial meetings where major decisions were taken.

I want to say that since the slots are not defined as per the guidelines, that the State is willing to allow the programmes to be run fully as an APC empowerment programme for their members and ceased to be part of it forthwith”. Awortu stated.

He called on the Federal Ministry of Labour and Empowerment to intervene for equity and fairness in the programme.