By Princess Simon (Bureau Chief North Central, in Minna)
About 20 workers of Edati Local Government Area of Niger state, mostly women has been served with query letters over alleged involvement and participation in rallies organised by opposition parties in the state.
Findings by NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER Correspondent indicates that all has not been well for civil servants under the All Progressive Congress (APC) as some of them at state and Local Government Area levels suffer various forms of victimisation and intimidation leading to demotion, deductions or outright withholding of salaries under flimsy excuses.
The NEWSLEADER findings also indicated that the most recent of such involving about 20 civil servants in Edati Local Government Area were issued with query/suspension letters for attending political rally organised by the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Apart from being queried for participating in PDP rallies, our Correspondent also had unconfirmed report that the August salaries of the victims is being withheld on the allegations that they were on the verge of dumping the ruling APC.
The suspension letters dated 2nd September, 2022, according to a signed one by one, Baba Shaba Garba, a Staff Officer, for the Director of Administration, Edati Local Government Area, Niger state.
The content of the query with the, Office of the Director of Personnel Management's letter-headed paper reads in part; ‘that you have absconded yourself from duty post on Thursday 28th August, 2022 to attend a political meeting at the PDP office in Enagi’, the Local Government headquarters.
"Consequent upon this development, you are requested to explain within 24 hours why disciplinary action should not be taken against you for engaging in partisan politics while in active service of Edati Local Government Council".
One of the victims (names withheld) however denied the allegations, insisting that she did not violated any law by using her free time for what she liked and no law prohibits her from joining/participating in politics because it does not in any way conflict with her official time.
She further stated that, “As a Nigerian citizen, I have the right to attend political meetings after office hours and I am also entitled to belong to any political party of my choice. I did not abscond from duty as alleged by the council”.
Another victim also referred NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER Correspondent to a judgement delivered by the Supreme Court presided over by Justice Muhammadu Uwais (retd) in January 2018, in which ruled that civil servants could be a member of a political party of their choice as provided for in the 1999 constitution and as enshrined in section 40 of the constitution of federal republic of Nigeria.
Already, our Correspondent's findings indicates that querying the affected staff which may as well be followed by unconfirmed treats of sack or stoppage of their salaries, is creating tension not only in Edati, but among the ranks of civil servants across the 25 Local Government Areas of Niger state.
Meanwhile efforts to reach the Chairman, Local Government Service Commission, Engineer Mohammed Dabban for comments as at the time of this report proved abortive, as his phone number is permanently on, ‘the number you are trying to call is currently not reachable’.
Also, the Secretary to the Niger State Government (SSG), Alhaji Ibrahim Matane, could not pick his calls when NEWSLEADER orrespondent reached out to him to respond to what may possibly follow after the sanction meted out to the workers. NNL.