The Edo state government has denied reports that it plans to retrench workers this coming year.

The government said it has concluded plans to further employ more hands.

The state’s Head of Service (HOS), Barr. Anthony Okungbowa, disclosed this on Tuesday in Benin, at a meeting with different workers’ unions in the state.

Among unions present at the meeting were the state’s chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), National Union of Teachers (NUT) and Joint Negotiating Council (JNC).

Okungbowa said, “The government has concluded plans to further employ more hands in the coming year. The government has no plan to retrench workers but has put measures in place for the training and retraining of every Edo worker to enhance effective service delivery.

“We are moving forward; the world is moving forward and the civil and public service in Edo State cannot afford to lag behind.”

He further disclosed that over 300 personnel were recruited into the state’s civil and public service during the first phase of the ongoing exercise.

While urging the unions to support the government’s drive to reposition the service, Okungbowa gave reassurances of the government’s commitment to improving the state’s civil and public service for effective and efficient service delivery.

He therefore called for the support of all stakeholders to sustain ongoing reforms across all sectors of the state, adding that the government is committed to realizing the Making Edo Great Again (MEGA) Agenda and achieving economic prosperity for Edo people.

The HOS stated that the meeting was aimed at strengthening the unity that exists between the government and organized labour.

According to him, “The industrial harmony that we have in the state today is because of the cooperation that exists between the government, organized labour and various unions. This has helped in deepening the gains recorded by the government across all sectors of the state.”

He noted that the government has placed emphasis on critical sectors of the state, including infrastructure, education, manpower development, and physical planning, amongst others.

On their part, the TUC chairman, Comr. Marshal Ohrue; JNC chairman, Comr. Oisamaye Godwin and the Secretary, Edo NLC, Comr. Barry Imade hailed Governor Obaseki for prioritizing the reform of the state’s civil and public service.