The Abia State Government led by Governor Alex Otti has announced plans to pay off salary arrears owed to workers in state-owned higher education institutions in instalments.
Mike Akpara, the Commissioner for Finance, made this announcement on Tuesday during a press conference in Umuahia, the state capital.
Mr. Akpara emphasized the current administration’s commitment to resolving the issue of unpaid salaries, stating, “A worker deserves his wages.”
He revealed that the administration inherited a debt of N16.5 billion in salary arrears owed to workers in these institutions. The government is determined to clear these arrears and maintain 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 7 p.m.
“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.
Mr. Akpara announced that the government would begin paying the salary arrears owed to workers in state-owned higher education institutions by “July or August,” with the aim of completing the payments by the end of the year.
He mentioned that the total salary arrears amount to N16.5 billion, and the government is committed to addressing this debt while also making advancements in other sectors.
The state-owned institutions affected include Abia State University (ABSU), the College of Education in Arochukwu, the College of Health Sciences, Abia State Polytechnic in Aba, and the Abia State University Teaching Hospital.
Mr. Akpara also noted that the government had already paid the April and May salary arrears owed to workers at ABSU.
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“We decided to run away from situations where subventions are being given to them, yet they cannot pay salaries.
“In the past, there was something called generate-and-use, and we noticed that things were not being done properly,” he said, adding that yet, there were situations “where salaries are being owed for 11 months, 33 months, 22 months respectively, in most of those institutions.”
He added, “As a matter of fact, the past government owed Abia Polytechnic -33 months, College of Education Arochukwu – 22 months, Abia State University – 11 months.
“Hospital Management Board was owed for several months. Theirs was humongous that they downed tools.
“We also have ASUBEB and SEMB. The total amounts being owed to them is over N4 billion.”
Mr. Akpara addressed criticisms aimed at Governor Alex Otti, stating it was unfair to label him a liar. He urged the public to support the government’s policies and programs.
He highlighted that the current administration had not applied for any new loans since taking office and had been effectively managing its finances to meet obligations on time.
Mr. Akpara noted that the previous administration initiated the process of requesting loans from the African Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank.
He emphasized that the current administration is continuing these efforts because “government is a continuum.”
Despite not yet receiving these loans, Mr. Akpara added that the government has been managing the state’s resources efficiently.
He said that the government had resolved to continue to conduct verification exercises whenever the need arises 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,” Mr Akpara said.
(NAN)
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