The Rivers State Local Government Service Commission has inaugurated an eleven-member committee to review complaints arising from the recently concluded biometric verification of local government workers.
The committee is expected to provide affected workers with an opportunity to present their grievances for consideration.
Inaugurating the committee in Port Harcourt, the Chairman of the Commission, Israel Amadi, said the verification exercise was conducted to establish the actual workforce of the local government system and address discrepancies in the payroll.
Amadi said the committee has one month to receive and consider petitions from workers who could not complete the verification exercise or whose names were affected by the process.
He stressed, however, that the committee has no mandate to conduct another biometric verification, but will strictly examine complaints arising from the exercise.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of Cinfores Limited, the consulting firm that conducted the exercise, Asawo Ibifuro, said a dedicated website would be provided for affected workers to submit their complaints.
Ibifuro said the verification exercise had helped the state save more than two billion naira from the local government salary bill.
The Biometric Verification Complaints Committee will be chaired by the Head of Service, Dr. Inyingi Brown, represented by Dr. Itong Awani, while Warisenibo Ubani will serve as Secretary.
Other members include Dr. Gwara Nuka, Dr. Josephine Chukwuigwe, Sammy Apiafi, the Chairman of Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, the NULGE President, the NLC President, Rivers State Congress, and Cinfores Limited.
The Assistant Director of the DSS in Rivers State, Samuel Ekpolo, and the Rivers State Commissioner of Police will serve as observers.
