Sixty workers of the Bauchi State Orphans and Vulnerable Children, OVC, agency from the 20 local government areas of the state, who were sacked by the immediate past administration, have appealed to the new Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed to look into their case and reinstate them in the interest of Justice and fairness.
The sacked workers, under the umbrella of BASOVCA Coordinators’ Forum, made the appeal when they addressed a press conference on Tuesday at the Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Bauchi.
Spokesmen of the Group and Secretary of the Forum, Tasi’u Usman Kirfi and Musa Adamu said they were appointed as local government OVC’s coordinators as temporary workers in 2013 during the administration of Isa Yuguda, but following the exit of the administration in 2015, the newly appointed BASOVCA Chairman disengaged them via a text message as all efforts to reinstate them proved abortive.
“Our challenge started around December 2016 when then the agency stopped our allowances. We spent 11 months without pay before we were disengaged through text messages and the agency is owing us 11 months allowances which is about N6.6 million.
“Former Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda after assessing our performance directed the State Civil Service to give us appointment as permanent and pensionable workers. We were in the process of getting the appointment letters when the agency sacked us.We are pleading with the new governor to look into our case and assist us,” Tasi’u said
The group added that they sought the intervention of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, National Human Rights Commission and other relevant agencies but all their efforts were fruitless, adding that they have decided to seek Governor Mohammed Bala’s intervention to reinstate them and pay them their outstanding allowances.
Efforts to get the reaction of the agency over the matter failed, however, a source in the agency told DAILY POST that Governor Bala Mohammed has relieved all political appointees of their appointment.
He explained that they were waiting for the appointment of new head of the agency who will be in a position to speak on the sack of the coordinators and their unpaid allowances.
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