Plans by Governor Alex Otti to raise employee wages in Abia State have been completed.
During a Friday night press conference with journalists in Umuahia, Otti revealed this. He said that he is working with stakeholders to raise the minimum salary for state employees and that the package would be made public as soon as possible.
He stated that the package adjustment was necessary due to current circumstances, particularly the state of the economy. He also assured the recently retired permanent secretaries and directors that they would receive their due salaries and gratuities and reiterated his commitment to paying the state’s pension arrears.
“We do understand that things are a bit more difficult for the people. We are engaging with stakeholders to see how we can improve on the pay of civil servants in line with the present economic realities, where exchange rates have converged upwards and fuel subsidy has been removed and inflation is heading to 30%.
“We are already working to see how we can improve on not just the minimum wage but also across the line and announcement to that effect will be made in due course,” he said.
In addition, the governor clarified that he did not fire the state’s permanent secretaries, noting that the officials were initially suspended, that their dismissal was consistent with what was acquired at the federal level, and that due procedure was adhered to.
He added that the number of individuals in the state civil service has been “underreported” and that there are simply too many of them. The number is uncountable, “saying that even at Government House, there are several employees who are idle and have been allowed to move out, 237 of whom are ineligible for layoffs.
Regarding the claim that his government spent money on food, Otti stated that the claims are baseless and untrue and a hatchet man’s job, noting, “There is nothing like that. It is a hatchet man’s job. The truth of the matter is that it is about falsehood. This is a government that is very prudent in the way it handles funds.”
Otti used the chance to clarify that he was not employed by the government or residing there as his predecessor had left the previous government house in a condition of disrepair and had commissioned an incomplete structure.
