By Brave Dickson
In its 2019 recruitment exercise, the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, has okayed three automatic employment slots for physically challenged persons in the state as part of carrying them along in the scheme of things.
This was revealed by the Chairman, Governing Council, Rivers State University, Justice Iche Ndu (rtd) when physically challenged persons led by the Senior Special Adviser to Governor Nyesom Wike on Physically Challenged Matters, Hon Itekena Altraide paid him a visit at his office in Port Harcourt.
In a chat with our correspondent after the visit, Hon Altraide said: “We went to the Governing Council Chairman, Rivers State University, Justice Iche Ndu (rtd) on the need to apportion some automatic employment qota for persons living with disabilities.
“About 21 persons living with disabilities who applied for the ongoing university jobs forwarded the photocopies of their credentials to my office. But only 18 came for us to verify them so as to ascertain those who are really physically challenged persons.
“The university governing council chairman said he can give us three automatic employment slots but we pleaded with him to consider the five per cent employment quota as stipulated in the Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018 and increase the number for us.
“However, we are still grateful for the three automatic employment slots the school has agreed to give to us. We view it as a welcome development”
You would recall that the Human Resources Department of the Rivers State University has said that it received over 50 000 applications from the job adverts it did for vacant positions in the university.
A reliable source who confirmed to theportcitynews but refused to have his name mentioned in the print said it will be impossible to look into all the applications which were manually delivered to the school.
“You know that it is a state government job. So those who are already working both in private and public organisations also want to take a chance. It does not mean that everyone who submitted an application is jobless.
”It will be difficult to go through all the documents but we will try our best in order to select the best candidates for the vacancies, “the source said.
The unprecedented huge number of job seekers may not have been unconnected to the increasing rate of unemployment in the country.
To make it worse, Governor Nyesom Wike of the state decided not to lift employment embargo throughout his 1st term in office.
As cheering to hear that the governor has finally lifted employment embargo which he announced as part of his 2nd term in office manifesto, the growing number of job seekers in the state is enormous.
This challenge has largely been attributed to the weak economy of the nation as some experts keep blaming the situation on the political class whom they believe are not judiciously using the resources of the nation for the overall benefit of all.
