Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas
Taraba State Government has dismissed reports claiming that sanitation workers in the state are being compelled to undergo electronic registration with the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a condition for retaining their jobs.
The Chairman of the Taraba State Environmental and Sanitation Agency (TSESA), Hon. Iliya Kefa, debunked the allegation on Wednesday while speaking with journalists in Jalingo, the state capital.
Reports had earlier circulated alleging that the chairman warned sanitation workers that failure to provide proof of APC e-registration would result in the loss of their jobs. However, Hon. Kefa has categorically denied the claim, insisting that no such directive was issued and that workers’ employment has no connection whatsoever to party affiliation.
He described the claim as false and misleading, insisting that he was misquoted and dragged into a controversy that never occurred.
Hon. Kefa explained that his recent meeting with sanitation workers drawn from the 16 local government areas of the state was purely to brief them on recent developments within the agency and to motivate them to improve performance. According to him, the gathering had nothing to do with politics or party registration.
“Everybody in the state is aware that over the years I was working here as a coordinator of the Operation Keep Taraba Clean, there was no formal appointment from the office of the governor,” he said. “The Taraba State Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, last week approved my appointment as the Chairman of the Taraba State Environmental Sanitation Agency (TSESA). It was from that day that the name was changed from Operation Keep Taraba Clean to Taraba State Environmental Sanitation Agency (TSESA).”
He added that the meeting was used to introduce new ideas and reforms aimed at strengthening sanitation services across the state. “These are the new innovations I gathered the workers to inform them about. I also used the opportunity to re-awaken their spirits and motivate them, making it clear that whoever refuses to work will not be paid,” Kefa stated.
Firmly denying the allegation of political coercion, the TSESA chairman said: “I never for once threatened any worker that if he or she did not present evidence of APC e-registration would be discharged from work. It is a lie against me, and I never intend to do such a thing because I know it is against the laws of the land.”
