Collection Of Civil Service Job Forms: 3 Applicants Collapse At State Secretariate

Last Tuesday, it was a fanfare of credential exhibition as over five
thousand Imo State Youth applicants thronged the state Civil Service
Commission at the state secretariat, Owerri, to pick and complete the
form CSCI which the commission is issuing to Imo applicants
preparatory to employment following the lifting of ban on employment
by the Okorocha-led government.

At the Commissions notice board, Trumpeta saw over sixty-five
advertised vacancies of various cadres pasted on it. The applicants
where struggling to have a glimpse at the notice board so as to know
where they fall.

Right inside the block housing the commission, the applicants
"littered" everywhere struggling to assess the forms which were issued
out by staff of the commission operating behind a door protector of
the commission's conference hall. The applicants besieged every window
of the hall.

Some pregnant applicants and those cuddling their babies were seen
standing aloft and watching helplessly from their vantage positions
while the females who are "freer" and the male counterparts fight for
the forms.

At about 2pm, three of the applicants collapsed because of the
intensity of the sun but were quickly revived by some good Samaritans.

There was another stampede some hours later when an aggrieved
applicant started sprinkling the pure water sachet he was drinking
following a message which spread like wild fire that only those who
had the "Youth Must Work" appointment letters or NYSC discharged
certificate would benefit from the exercise.

The stampede culminated into a near riot as the applicants embarked
upon destruction spree breaking doors and windows, tables and chairs
when it was discovered that a lady had started suffering miscarriage
as a result of the struggle. The youths became more aggrieved when
officials of the commission started asking for money before issuing
out the CSCI forms.

Some of the applicants who spoke to Trumpeta under strict anonymity
wondered why the forms CSCI were not sent to the "Youth Must Work"
beneficiaries in their places of deployment for them to fill and
return to the commission.

Others who spoke described the entire exercise as political gimmick
Governor Okorocha is using to lure the youths to vote for him come
2015. They wondered the rationale behind the lifting of ban on
unemployment few months to election since he condemned the 10,000 job
opportunities Ohakim gave to Imo youths through an organized process.

Meanwhile, an inside source in the commission told Trumpeta that
political appointees have hijacked the forms for distribution to some
youths who would assist them come 2015.

The source revealed that the exercise at the commission was just a smoke screen.