Successful applicants from the Rivers State Government‘s 2023 civil service recruitment exercise have appealed to the Rivers State House of Assembly to intervene in the prolonged delay in the issuance of appointment letters to thousands of candidates who were recruited nearly three years ago.

The applicants, drawn from the 23 Local Government Areas of the state, made the appeal during a visit to the Rivers State House of Assembly on Friday, where they presented their grievances before lawmakers.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Ajoku David said the applicants were among the 10,000 successful candidates recruited by the Rivers State Government in 2023 through a process conducted by the Rivers State Civil Service Commission.

According to him, all successful candidates completed the required documentation process after being contacted by the commission in October 2023, following the recruitment exercise which, he said, complied with established procedures.

He recalled that Governor Siminalayi Fubara, during the presentation of the 2024 budget in November 2023, had assured that appointment letters would soon be issued to successful candidates and that provisions for their employment had been captured in the budget.

However, David lamented that while some beneficiaries recruited under the Universal Basic Education (UBE) stream have recently received appointment letters and had their employment finalized, a significant number of applicants assigned to ministries and other government agencies remain without appointments.

He described the situation as troubling and unfair, noting that many affected applicants have continued to endure economic hardship while waiting for the government to fulfil its commitment.

The group raised several concerns over the delay, questioning whether candidates outside the UBE and health sectors would be excluded from the employment exercise despite being successful in the recruitment process.

Among the issues highlighted were the existence of vacancies that prompted the recruitment exercise, the status of budgetary provisions made for the appointments, and the government’s commitment to ensuring fairness and equity in the implementation of the recruitment programme.

“Are we not Rivers sons and daughters to be employed as others in the UBE and Health sectors? Do we not have the right to be employed by our government in our own state?” the applicants queried.

They also questioned whether the budgetary allocations made for the exercise were merely symbolic and expressed concern over the length of time they had been made to wait.

Despite their frustration, the applicants emphasized that they had remained peaceful and law-abiding throughout the period, resisting any form of confrontation or unrest.

The group appealed to Speaker Martin Amaewhule and members of the Assembly to use their legislative influence to draw the attention of the Rivers State Government to their plight and facilitate the issuance of appointment letters to all successful candidates.

They maintained that their demand was rooted in fairness, equity and inclusion, urging the government to ensure that no category of successful applicants is left behind.

The applicants further pledged to continue promoting peace and supporting the development of Rivers State while awaiting a favourable response from the government.

“We have been patient for three years despite the hardship we have collectively faced. We appeal to the government to remember us and carry everybody along,” David stated. (The Guardian)