Our attention at Harmony Holdings Limited has been drawn to a report published by one disreputable local blog on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, on Kwara Hotel, where it stated that the Kwara State Government has sacked some of the hotel’s staff members.
We debunk this claim as no worker of the state-owned hotel has been sacked to this day. The report is uninformed, speculative, malicious and one-sided. We therefore advise the general public to disregard the report which is targeted at painting the government in bad light as has been the trademark of the blog.
The facts of the matter for clarity purpose are that the transition process of Kwara Hotel staff is still work in progress. The process is being jointly undertaken by the Office of the Head of Service, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Technology, and Harmony Holdings Limited, which are looking at educational qualifications, age and other criterias to suitably migrate the staff into the civil service.
Following several sittings by these parties to take definite action on the staff, it was found out that some workers of the hotel may not fit appropriately into the BIT Ministry which requires some level of qualifications and expertise. So as to therefore not distort the civil service practice and also render the staff jobless, other sectors of the civil service are being considered for their deployment.
The parties will continue to review the matter, just as the staff and the general public can be assured that the best decision that aligns with the law will be taken. We reiterate again that no worker has been sacked.
In fact, the state government under the leadership of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as a genuine and considerate administrator has graciously approved the payment of these workers for both the months of October and November which has been duly paid as at the time of this press release. Assurances have also been given that every staff whose migration process is not concluded before the salary for the month of December is due will still be paid under the same current transitory arrangement while the migration process is being concluded.
We therefore urge members of the public to be circumspect of uninformed and malicious reports flying around. The current administration will continue to take actions in line with the rule of law, public interest and best practices.
Finally, it is instructive to state that entry into the Kwara State Civil Service is guided by its rules and conditions which include but not limited to minimum eligibility requirements such as educational qualification and age, all of which must be reviewed and considered in the transition process. While this process is still on, however, no worker of Kwara Hotel has been retrenched as painted by the blog.
Corporate Affairs Unit
Harmony Holdings Limited
December 13, 2022
