Forcefully Retired Permanent Secretaries Drag Wike To Court
A National Industrial Court in Yenegoa has fixed January 19 for the hearing of the matter instituted by six permanent secretaries challenging their “forceful” retirement by the Rivers State government led by Governor Nyesom Wike.
The six former permanent secretaries are praying the court to stop the Rivers state government from ejecting them from their official quarters.
Speaking to newsmen in Yenegoa after the adjournment, counsel to the claimants, Tuduru Ede said that his clients were seeking the relief since they had instituted a substantive suit challenging their retirement.
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Ede, who said that the Rivers state government lacked the right to forcefully retire civil servants who were yet to reach their retirement age, argued that his clients were still civil servants who should enjoy all the rights of civil servants until the matter was dispensed off.
He said, “The Perm Secs are saying that the court should direct the defendants not to remove them from their accommodation or take away any property from them as Permanent Secretaries because they are still in service and the matter is being contested in court.
“To sack a civil servant you must follow specified rules. By Law they are still civil servants, so nobody can just come and start sacking people anyhow. That is not possible,” he said.
