The Abia State Government has announced plans to settle salary arrears owed to workers in the state civil service through gradual payments.
Mike Akpara, the Commissioner for Finance, revealed this during a press conference in Umuahia on Tuesday.
Akpara emphasized the current administration’s commitment to changing the practice of salary delays, stating that “a worker deserves his wages.”
He noted that the government inherited a substantial debt of N16.5 billion in salary arrears owed to workers in state-owned educational institutions.
The commissioner highlighted the government’s determination to clear these arrears while ensuring sustained progress in other sectors of the economy.
“We need to jump start the economy of the state and for the velocity of money to improve in Abia, we need to stop going to bed by 7pm. For salary arrears, the governor has set up machinery in motion to ensure that salary arrears would become a thing of the past.
“One thing I will promise is that it will be paid but it is not going to be in one sweep. We will do it in instalments, so that it does not hamper the progress of other sectors of the economy,” he said.
Akpara said that the government would commence payment of the salary arrears owed workers of state-owned institutions of learning by “July or August” with the hope of completing payments by the end of the year.
He said that the total amount of salaries owed to the institutions was N16.5billion and the government was expected to pay those arrears and do something in other sectors.
Akpara said that the state-owned institutions of higher learning include Abia State University, College of Education, Arochukwu, College of Health Sciences, Abia state Polytechnic, Aba and Abia State University Teaching Hospital.
The commissioner said that the government had paid the salary arrears for April and May owed workers in ABSU.
He stated, “We decide to run away from situations where subventions are being given to them, yet they are unable to pay salaries. In the past, there was something called generate and use and we noticed that things were not being done properly, a situation where salaries are being owed for 11 months, 33 months, 22 months respectively, in most of those institutions. As a matter of fact, the past government owed Abia Polytechnic 33 months, College of Education Arochukwu 22 months and Abia State University 11months.
“Hospital Management Board was owed for several months. Theirs was humongous. We also have ASUBEB and SEMB, the total amount owed them is over N4 billion.”
He said that it was unfair for people to call names and refer to Governor Alex Otti of Abia State as a liar, and urged the people to support the policies and programmes of the government.
Akpara said that the present administration had not applied for any loan since its assumed office and had been managing its finances well enough to fulfil its obligations on time.
He said that the previous administration began the process of requesting loans from the Africa Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank.
He said they were completing what the past administration started, since “government is a continuum.’’
Mr Akpara added that the loans had not been released to the government and it had been managing its resources.
He said that the government resolved to continue to conduct verification whenever the need arose to restore sanity in the civil service.
“We will continue to apply ourselves to the good works that the state requires to ensure that the people get the dividend of democracy,” Akpara said.