Ekiti State Government has directed officers of the Ekiti State Traffic Management Agency, EKSTMA, who are still interested in the job to reapply for fresh appointment as from 1st December 2014 to enable it correct the anomaly in the recruitment process.
The state governor, Dr. Ayodele Fayose gave the directive at a meeting he held with the men and officers of the Agency in Ado-Ekiti.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Kolapo Olusola, condemned in strong terms the process of recruitment put in place by the previous administration, where officers were merely engaged without letters of appointment or concrete step to fix them into the civil service system.
Dr. Fayose said that his government considered the services rendered by EKSTMA as very relevant going by their contributions to safety and traffic management in Ekiti State, particularly in Ado, the state capital as well as their contribution to the state IGR.
He assured the 300 uniform EKSTMA officers that all the arrears of salaries owed them by the previous administration would be settled as soon as possible and that the process of their re-engagement would be perfected before the end of the year and that a substantial number of them would be re-engaged because the trainings and experiences they have acquired on the job over the years will be an added advantage for those who re-applied among them.
The Governor clarified that the concept of stomach Infrastructure put in place by his administration, which was being mis-interpreted by the opposition, was actually a strategy put in place to put smiles on the faces of the people of the state, especially the less-privileged, aged, widows, orphans and others who find it difficult to make ends meet.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Works and Transport, Mr. Kayode Oso explained that the Ekiti State Traffic ManagementAgency was established under the law of Ekiti State in August 2011 but the recruitment of all the 300 officers did not follow due process and they were not issued letters of appointment.
Responding, on behalf of EKSTMA officers, Adebayo Ojo and Oladele Apaguntan appealed to the State Government to look critically into their predicament and consider them for full employment into the Civil Service system.
Noting that all of them are indigenes of Ekiti State who have dependants looking up to them for their survival, Mr. Apaguntan begged the governor to favourably consider their re-engagement, adding that the over 3 years on-the-job experience would be additional advantage for improved service delivery