Abia: Automatic promotion to workers not captured in 2023 budget – Lawmaker

A lawmaker in Abia, Chief Obinna Ichita, has said that the 2023 Appropriation Act passed by the state House of Assembly did not capture the State Government’s automatic promotion to Local Government workers.

Ichita, representing Aba South State Constituency, made the disclosure during an interactive session with newsmen in Umuahia on Friday.

He was reacting to the automatic promotion announced by Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu during a meeting with civil servants in the state on Thursday.

He said: “The automatic promotion to Local Government workers coming barely by one week to the election is a mere subterfuge.

“There are workers who are owed up to 36 months salary arrears and never enjoyed any promotion for many years under Ikpeazu’s administration.
“The governor has not paid workers allowance and other entitlements since he assumed office in 2015.

“Therefore, the announcement is deceptive and cannot fly.

“Also, there is no provision in the 2023 budget to cover the salaries for the promotion.

“If he was genuine, he would have increased the provision for recurrent expenditure for us to assume that he planned to promote workers.”
Ichita further described the governor’s gesture as “an insult on the collective sensibility of our people.

“It shows that he thinks that the workers are fools to be carried away by his unrealistic promise,” he said.
He, therefore, advised the workers to ignore the pronouncement and take it as one of the governor’s phoney promises.

“He promised to build Enyimba Economic City, Education City at Owerrinta, reconstruction of Ahiaohuru and Ariaria markets in Aba before the end of 2021.

“He also promised an underground tunnel at Ifeobara Pond and revitalisation of the education and health sectors but all these and many others have remained unfulfilled,” he said.

The lawmaker also took a swipe at the governor for not paying attention to critical roads in some parts of Aba, including the Port Harcourt Road, which he started but abandoned midway.
He also listed the Omuma Road, Obuohia Road and Ohanku Road, among the deplorable roads in the commercial city begging for attention.