Workers’ Biometrics: Rivers Civil Servants Seek Time Extension

The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has been called upon to consider the need to shift the planned workers’, identity  verification exercise to next year.
Some workers who spoke with The Tide in Port Harcourt Wednesday said the exercise would cause panic among workers in the state due to its urgency.
A civil servant, who gave her name as Abigail Allen, said that the governor  should extend  the process till 2018 to enable them prepare  fully as some of them are yet to recover from the  debts incurred  while the 2016  exercise lasted.
She noted that  such  exercise  was conducted  recently,  adding that it was surely in the interest of the workers.
Allen also  made case for data collection of  each  worker at his/her  work-place to ease the process.
In his view, another civil servant, Mr Bob Chukwunoye, said that the planned  exercise  should be  done by merely submitting the previous   identify cards  to the ICT centre of the state.
He said since the current  workers ID cards  said to contain all  details  about  an individual  worker,   it would be safer to  work through ID cards than to assemble  all workers together for another verification purpose.
Chuwkunoye  also pointed out that cost would be less on the state, thereby, saving some money for other projects.
Others who supported the time extension,  stressed that first  quarter  of  next year would  be appropriate, to  enable worker  assemble the necessary  documents and materials.