…Reaffirms Commitment To Staff Verification, Workers’ Welfare
Rivers State Administrator (Rtd) Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas addressed a critical meeting with leaders of organised labour and local government administrator in the state on Friday, 29th August 2025 at Government House in Port Harcourt.
He said:
“I welcome all to this very important engagement. I have deliberately chosen today, the 29th of August 2025, a day before a very important exercise – the conduct of our local government council elections, to gather you all to address an important matter that affects the ability of government to function effectively.
“Tomorrow’s elections are an important step towards restoring democratic governance at the grassroots level, and it presents us all an opportunity to choose our leaders at that level of governance. In electing them, it is important that we recognise the need for there to be clarity in the resources available to them at resumption of their tenures.
“An important resource that is not usually paid attention to is the human resource. There is a direct linkage between the ability of a leader to be able to deploy all resources available to them, both human and material, to their ability to meet the needs and aspirations of their various communities. With clarity on these resources, we can confidently hold them accountable.
“And that brings me to the main reason we are gathered here today.
“My administration, recognising the challenges of accurate data and the importance of it thereof, decided to embark on a verification exercise of the state public service and the biometric enrollment of local government employees in the state. The staff verification exercise initiative, like it is stated, is crucial for transparency, accountability and efficiency in our workforce.
“This administration is committed to a thorough and fair verification process ensuring that all staff members are accurately accounted for and that they are at their duty posts to provide the services they have been hired to provide to the people of the Rivers States.
“We have worked diligently to ensure that the verification process is transparent with clear guidelines and criteria for evaluation. This has helped built trust and confidence amongst our stakeholders.
“We recognise the importance of employee welfare and are committed to addressing any concerns or issues that may arise during the verification process. Our goal is to create a positive and supportive work environment while ensuring that government is able to plan adequately for its employees.
“The verification teams and the Office of the Head of Service have been working tirelessly to ensure that all staff members are verified and that the records are up to date. They have collected and reviewed extensive data on staff, including their salary, grades, qualifications and experience.
“In planning this verification exercise, we recognised the need to deploy a very confident service provider with relevant experience in conducting similar tasks. We also understood the likely discomfort and frustration that come with exercises like this. We therefore took deliberate steps, not only to deploy a good number of teams for the verification exercise, but paid special attention to our most respected pensioners.
“I think, the Head of Services has already mentioned, during the verification of pensioners, we provided launch for them and paid ₦10,000 which support their transportation. I am also told, they provided buses to take them back, closer to their transportation point.
“Furthermore, they provided links for pensioners in diaspora to be able to verify them and be captured and it’s ongoing seamlessly. The verification team also went to Bonny to verify state and local government pensioners, staff of the Hospital Management Board, UBE, Secondary Schools and Local Government Staff.
“As an update, I am pleased to emphasise the following progress. That the verification of staff of UBE and Secondary Schools Boards have been completed. That, the verification of staff of the Rivers State University, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, and other state-owned institutions in the state has been completed.
“That a total of 37,703 staff have been successfully captured and verified as against the initial figure we had which is 43,000 plus. That a total of 19,186 state pensioners have been successfully captured, verified as against the initial figure of 25,500 plus. A total of 2,004 local government pensioners have been verified as against 2,600 plus figures received, and that 8,000 local government staff have been verified across seven local government areas namely, Asari-Toru, Obio/Akpor, Akuku-Toru, Etche, Andoni, Bonny and Degema so far.
“That, the verification of local government workers, as I said, is ongoing. While we have encountered some challenges during that process, we are working to address the issues promptly and efficiently. Nevertheless, we are committed to completing the verification process as soon as possible while ensuring that all necessary steps are taken to ensure accuracy and fairness.
“I therefore, want to charge the Heads of Local Governments here to ensure that all staff are available and this process must be completed by the 4th of September, 2025. Let me repeat, this exercise must be completed by the 4th of September, 2025. I will deploy all state resources to make sure that it works. I hope I’ve made myself clear.
“Once the verification process is complete, we will implement the recommendations arising from the exercise with a focus on improving our workforce and organisational efficiency.
“Now, the payment of gratuity and debt benefits has become a very sad situation, calls for sobering reflection amongst ourselves. Over four months, we have not been able to get a verified record of exact beneficiaries of these people whose loved ones died in active service. It’s a shame that we have only been able to clean up and pay only the March, 2025 debt payments. Out of which we discovered an overpayment in sanctions in that schedule to the tune of N117 Million.
“I have ordered a thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding that overpayment and sanction culprits. There must be consequences and these malfeasance must stop. It’s a crime against your very colleagues whose families are left in pain and penury after their passing.
“I want to assure you that this administration is committed to working collaboratively with the labour unions to ensure that staff verification exercise is successful and beneficial to all stakeholders. We look forward to your continued support and cooperation.
“And, to my dear people of Rivers State, as we go to the polls tomorrow, I urge us all to be faithful and conduct ourselves in a manner that will bring no shame and disrespect to the state, but restore the glory and honour of our dear Rivers State. I assure you all that we have made all necessary arrangements to ensure the peaceful and safe atmosphere for the conduct of the local government elections.
“Please go out there and exercise your civil responsibility without fear or intimidation.
