The Rivers State Executive Council has approved the immediate recruitment of 5,000 indigenes into the state civil service as part of efforts to strengthen administrative efficiency and improve public service delivery.
The approval was granted at the second State Executive Council meeting of 2026, presided over by Governor Siminalayi Fubara, with the Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Odu, in attendance. The meeting was held on Tuesday at the Government House, Port Harcourt.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communications, Dr Honour Sirawoo, said the recruitment exercise is largely targeted at the education sector, where manpower shortages have been identified.
“We just concluded the State Executive Council meeting presided over by the Executive Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara. Several issues were discussed, but most prominent was the approval for the employment of 5,000 persons into the Rivers State civil service,” Sirawoo said.
According to him, the decision is aimed at strengthening service delivery across the state, with priority attention given to schools at different levels.
Providing a breakdown, Sirawoo explained that 300 recruits will be deployed to basic and primary schools, while 2,000 personnel will serve in post-primary schools.
He added that the latest approval brings the total number of employments under the Fubara administration to about 9,500.
“This administration has been consistently employing qualified Rivers people. We do not make unnecessary noise about our actions because our services are for all Rivers people,” he said.
“Recall that 1,500 persons were earlier recruited into the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, 2,000 into medical services, and 1,000 for Universal Basic Education,” Sirawoo added.
He assured that the recruitment process would be transparent and merit-based.
“The process for the employment of these approved 5,000 persons will be properly guided to ensure that only qualified candidates are recruited,” he said.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Employment Generation and Economic Empowerment, Dr Chisom Kenneth Gbali, welcomed the council’s decision, describing it as a major boost to job creation in the state.
Gbali noted that his ministry would play a key role in implementing the policy, adding that it stands as one of the major beneficiaries of the employment initiative.
