One hundred and twenty-seven new staff of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture,, Umudike, Abia State, who were employed by the Federal Government , have appealed to President Bola Tinubu to prevail on the management of the institution to reinstate them as duly employed workers of the institution.
The workers who were at the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, office in Umuahia on Monday to seek help, alleged that they were sacked and replaced with candidates allegedly fetched from outside the original employment list.
Speaking on behalf of his disengaged colleagues, Mr. Eze Ejike and Mrs Gospel Nwaike said that 553 new workers were duly employed by the Federal Government and captured on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System, GIFMIS, by officials from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Abuja.
He said that despite being issued official appointment letters and staff Identity Cards by the Federal Government, and despite working for five months in 2026, the management of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, sacked them on Wednesday, 15th July 2026.
He claimed that 127 names contained in the authentic GIFMIS list of 553 employed workers have been substituted and replaced with candidates supplied by senior officials of the university.
Ejike who alleged that many of the disengaged staff were forced by security officials at the university to submit their official staff identity cards, also alleged that the staff were forced to sign their disengagement letters under duress.
Adding her voice, a female lawyer who is among the sacked staff,
