Rivers-South Nigeria, Introduces Virtual Work for 3 Million Local Government Employees

Virtual work for Rivers State employees: State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has directed local government workers in its 23 councils to start working virtually after the LGA crisis rocked Rivers State. 

Virtual Work For Rivers State Employees

It started as a peaceful protest before it turned into a clash.  This caused the state police commissioner to move in and take control of the council.

The police went on to seal the councils while announcing that they would be reopened at the determination of a pending court case. 

With the police sealing the councils, the state governor directed the caretaker chairmen to work remotely.

Note that, according to the chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in Rivers State, Alex Agwanwor, working virtually as prescribed by the governor means looking for other locations to act as councils.

A Different Meaning Of Virtual Work In Rivers State

The NLC state chairman expressed his opinion to Arise TV when quizzed about the nature of virtual work.

He stated that the governor asked the caretakers to look for spaces where the LG workers would work. 

In other words, they should look for alternative offices to operate out of. This development of this new form of virtual work is due to the paper-based style of administration. 

The workers need access to their offices, not to use their computers, but to create an atmosphere of efficiency. As such, they are likely to be less effective working from anywhere else that isn’t their office.

Conclusion

Alex Agwanwor said, “How many of these people will be able to work from home? They can’t because they must render services.”
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He went on to call on the state police to unseal the local government councils. He stated that they should allow the state workers to have access to their offices where they could continue their jobs of providing essential services to the communities. 

However, the police insist the councils will remain sealed until a court pronouncement. This might take years to take effect.