By Eric Ugbor

ABA—A group known as Abia For Good Governance, AGG, has lambasted and described as a deceit, the decision of the Abia state government to lift the long standing embargo on employment into the civil service of the state.

The group in a statement made available to Vanguard  yesterday in Aba and signed by its President, Mr  Jude Udensi and Secretary, Chidi Nwanosike Jnr respectively, accused the state government of using employment as a ploy to hoodwink Abia indigenes into voting Ikpeazu for a second term in 2019.

The Abia State Government had few days ago, through the office of the Head of Service, announced that it has lifted the embargo by the previous government for the employment of   indigenes of the state into the civil service.

As at yesterday, over 20,000 unemployed youths in the state from the 17 local government areas have besieged the state Civil Service Commission in Umuahia jostling to obtain forms for the employment programme of the state government.

But AGG told Abians not to be deceived by the announcement of the state government to offer employment to them, alleging that the government was deceiving the people.

AGG said: “How can a government that has not been able to pay workers salaries since its assumption in 2015 come out in the third year of her administration promising to give the people job just to gain popularity and surreptiously, deceive the people into voting them back  in 2019?

“Primary and secondary school teachers are owed salaries over six and seven months in the state. Some MDAs are owed above that while pensioners have continued to suffer and many civil servants are dead due to over 23 months owed them by the present government.

“So, where would a government that is owing this backlog of wages without any concrete plans and hope of offsetting the huge debt  get the money to pay the potential recruits? Don’t you see a deceit of the highest magnitude?”