The Ondo State Government has clarified that the individuals who staged a protest over alleged exclusion from the recent teachers’ recruitment exercise were not genuine recruits but victims of a fraudulent employment syndicate.
This was contained in a statement signed by Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, on Friday.
The statement reads partly: “To clarify, those who protested were not teachers but applicants defrauded by scammers who issued fake employment and posting letters during the recruitment exercise, after collecting money from them.
“These defrauded applicants were identified during the biometric verification process and informed that their letters were fake. Already, disciplinary action has been taken against three SUBEB insiders who allegedly connived with external individuals to defraud the applicants. The over 2000 teachers duly employed by the government for primary and secondary schools have already commenced work.”
The government stressed that it would not tolerate any attempt to undermine the integrity of its recruitment process, especially when transparency and fairness were observed throughout the exercise.
Governor Aiyedatiwa has directed the management of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) to invite the victims of the fraud for a meeting. A committee has also been set up to further investigate the scam and ensure that those involved face appropriate sanctions.
The statement further noted that the government remained committed to strengthening due process in employment exercises, while urging members of the public to desist from engaging with unauthorised persons in pursuit of government jobs.
