PUNCH

THE Rivers State Government says it has lifted the ban on promotion in the civil service.

Governor Nyesom Wike said this on Wednesday during the 2019 International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day, at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, Elekahia in Port Harcourt.

Represented by his deputy, Dr Ipalibo Harry Banigo, Wike said the chairman of the Civil Service Commission had been directed to conduct interviews and effect the promotion of civil servants.

The governor also said he had approved the recruitment of Rivers indigenes to fill existing vacancies as part of his administration’s effort to strengthen the civil service.

Wike said the state government was committed to tackling social issues by creating the enabling environment for the private sector to create jobs and empower youths.

He said, “We are also strengthening our educational system to ensure that our graduates are imbued with appropriate skills and the mindset to become job creators rather than job seekers, and will also continue to implement effective policies and programmes that will address and lift our people from poverty to economic prosperity.”

Wike promised to pay the N30,000 new minimum wage as soon as he received the official transmission from the Federal Government.

The state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Beatrice Itubo, congratulated Wike on his reelection.