Gov. Bassey Otu of Cross River has lifted the 25-year embargo on employment in the State civil service.
Dr Erasmus Ekpang, Commissioner for Information, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar on Wednesday.
While noting that the last time mass employment took place in the service was in 1999, Ekpang said 2,000 people were to be recruited in the first phase. He said the recruitment exercise with immediate effect, will be carried out across all the Ministry Department and Agencies (MDAs).
“The immediate past administration actually tried to employ but when the present government came in, lots of flaws were discovered in that exercise.
“As we speak, the State civil service is almost depleted and we are indeed happy that the governor has considered it necessary to recruit at this point in time,” he stated.
When asked if the state will pay the ₦70,000 minimum wage, the commissioner said: "That will be considered at the appropriate time”.
In another development, Gov. Otu has commended the people of the state for not participating in the nationwide “Hunger Protest” which began on August 1. He specifically commended youths for deeming it fit to allow peace to reign in the state.