Ebonyi scraps agency, sacks workers

Despite claims that it would not downside its workforce, Ebonyi State Government yesterday, scraped the State Environmental Potential Agency (EBSEPA), disengaging all the agency’s workers.

The state government said the move was necessary because the law establishing agency, which was hitherto saddled with the responsibility of keeping the state clean, has been repealed and replaced with the Environmental Protection Law.

Confirming the development, the State Commissioner for Environment, Nomeh Ogodoali, said the action was in-line with the provision of the law, adding that the workers became redundant following the scrapping of EBSEPA law.

According to him, “What government did was in-line with the provision of the law. Following the scrapping of the agency, the workers became redundant and the government has no other choice than to lay them off.”

One of the affected workers, Boniface Nwankwo, said he was close to retirement and appealed to the government to reabsorb them, as the job was their only source livelihood.

Another affected worker, Christiana Onwe, called on the government to redeploy them to the state Ministry of Environment instead of throwing them back to a state of joblessness, as was done in other agencies that were merged with their parent ministries.

Efforts to speak with the Head of Service, Comrade Chamberlain Nwele, on the matter proved abortive.