In a bid to fulfill his campaign promise of clearing arrears of workers’ salaries and pensions, inherited from the previous administration, Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, yesterday, directed the state Accountant General to pay, this week, April 2023 arrears to only verified workers and, next week, June pensions.
Recall that the governor promised to settle arrears of salaries and pensions, as well as commence payment of monthly salaries and pensions on or around 28 of every month, which took effect from last month’s (June) salary.
The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu, said the payments were approved during the maiden state Executive Council (Exco) meeting, yesterday.
Kanu hinted that as soon as the ongoing verification exercise, in both local council and civil service, is completed, all workers in the state would be on the same page in salary and pension payments.
He said that Exco enjoined local councils and the Judicial Services Commissions (JSC) to cooperate with the verification committee to ensure speedy conclusion of the exercise so that local council and judiciary workers would be paid as their counterparts at the state level.
Announcing other decisions and resolutions at the Exco meeting, the commissioner said: “Henceforth, there would be enforcement of the extant law that all buildings must be approved before erection, and any structure that does not meet standards would be demolished. This is inline with state government’s commitment to ensure buildings are orderly erected.”
Kanu stressed that the era of building without approval or securing it illegally is over.
Other Exco decisions, according to the commissioner, were that government earmarked 17 schools, one from each of the 17 councils, for reconstruction, assuring that work in the schools would commence and completed within Otti’s first 100 days in office.
That the appointment of the football legend and former Super Eagles’ star, Kanu Nwankwo, as the Chairman of Enyimba Football Club, with the responsibility of supervising, strengthening and repositioning the club to win more laurels for the state, was also approved.
He also said Dike Nwankwo was appointed to head Abia State Orientation Agency, which is charged with the responsibility of effecting public enlightenment to reduce the disconnect and build trust between government and the citizenry.
