The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Abia State chapter has criticised Governor Alex Otti’s directive to reverse all command promotions made in the Abia State public service over the past eight years prior to April 2023, labeling it as punitive, obnoxious, and anti-people.
In a statement issued by the state Head of Service, Dr. Mrs Ngozi Queen Obioma, dated July 4, 2024, and titled “Reversion of All Command Promotions in the Abia Public Service,” the government explained its position.
The statement read, “In line with the unwavering commitment of the present administration to reform the Abia Public Service in accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Rule, we wish to convey the directive of His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Chioma Otti, on the above subject.”
“Consequently, all command promotions granted in the past eight (8) years before the inception of the present administration to both individual public servants and the entire workforce (in April 2023) are hereby cancelled.
“All the affected staff are hereby directed to return to their former rank and salary grade level before the command promotions under reference.
“Such staff will henceforth progress through the normal promotion processes as enshrined in the Public Service Rules and Regulations.
“This is aimed at restoring normalcy and seniority in the service, as well as the sanctity of the service, which was eroded over time.
“Accordingly, Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Ministerial and Non-Ministerial Departments are directed to ensure strict compliance with this directive and forward to the Office of the Head of Service corrected copies of the 2024 Nominal Rolls in both hard and soft copies, reflecting the reversion. This circular is with effect from July 1, 2024.”
However, in response, the PDP stated that its attention had been drawn to what it described as “one of the many punitive and obnoxious directives by the Abia governor, Alex Otti, aimed at destroying the Abia State civil and public service.”
According to Hon. Elder Abraham Amah, the Abia PDP Vice Chairman and Acting State Publicity Secretary, “This directive is clearly anti-people and against the Abia State public and civil service rules. Governor Alex Otti has a penchant for not following due process in dealing with the Abia Civil Service.”
The party recalled, “A few days after he assumed office as the governor of Abia State, Alex Otti summarily suspended all the permanent secretaries in the civil service without due process and later sacked all of them without recourse to the provisions of the Abia Civil Service rules.”
“A few weeks into his governorship, Alex Otti sacked all civil servants who had served as directors for upwards of eight years, even when they were not due for retirement, sacked more than 15,000 Abia civil servants without following due process and civil service rules, and subjected the remaining ones to endless verifications, with many owed salaries in the past 13 months that he has been governor.
“The issue of salary payment has become an existential threat to Abia workers, even in the face of increased earnings by the state from the Federation Allocation Account Committee, FAAC.
“Presently, two labour unions—the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU branch of the Abia State University, and the organised labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC, both of the Abia State branch—are spoiling for war with Alex Otti on account of unpaid salaries in his 13-month tenure and his refusal to pay the N35,000 wage award approved by the Federal government.
“But Alex Otti is always quick to implement other policies from the federal government, like the one that has to do with the certification of civil servants.
“The selective implementation of policies by this administration is not only barbaric but also unproductive, as it has the potential to affect the morale of workers adversely.
“Reversing the command promotions made by the previous government, which followed civil rules, is a pathetic anathema that speaks to the continuous destruction of Abia governance structures by Alex Otti, and this reflects his undying hatred for the PDP, especially the immediate past government.
“Incidentally, he has failed to learn, and this is made manifest in the embarrassing mistakes he has made in government, which he has surreptitiously tried to cover up by bringing back the sacked civil servants as consultants.
“Abia PDP considers it insensitive that Alex Otti will reverse the promotions and order the civil servants to return to the prior levels, including the reversal of their salary grades, in the face of excruciating hardship, soaring inflation, an economic downturn, and rising food prices.
“Couldn’t the government have devised another method of implementing this policy going forward than reversing a promotion and a salary that workers have built family structures in the past eight years?
“The Abia PDP calls on governor Alex Otti to have a humane face in dealing with personnel issues, and for the umpteenth time, let Alex Otti understand that Abia civil servants are not members of the PDP, and every attempt he makes to take revenge on Abia PDP using Abia civil servants will backfire and fail on his face.”
The party urged Abia civil servants to “continue to engage peacefully and meaningfully with the Alex Otti government for the reversal of this punitive and anti-people policy and others that are destroying the fabric of the Abia civil service.
“Alex Otti should understand that government is a continuum that survives different operators,” advising the governor not to “destroy the good things he inherited on the altar of hate.”
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