Ayade gave the directive in a statement by Mr Christian Ita, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, on Saturday in Calabar.

The governor said the decentralisation became necessary due to concerns about the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.

Ayade said that the state government decentralised the exercise due to the massive crowd witnessed at registration points.

According to him, all registrations for the automatic job placement will now be at the applicants’ village square or playgrounds.

“Names originating from the various family units are to be collated by village heads and forwarded to a local government coordinator that will be appointed by the COVID-19 Response Task Force.

“The list will be verified and authenticated by the paramount rulers of each local government area and submitted to the COVID-19 Response Task Force.

“Selected persons will be invited to an all-expense-paid induction course in Calabar in batches and selected persons will then be posted to their areas of interest.

“Please note that the salary to be earned will be tax-free as it falls within the range of income exempted from tax by the state tax exemption law,” Ayade said.

It would be recalled that on Wednesday, April 15, the governor, during the inauguration of the state food bank, announced automatic employment for 8,000 youths in the state as part of his palliatives to youths.