Why I Don’t Pay Salary To Abia Workers In Parastatals – Ikpeazu Explains | READ DETAILS
The incumbent governor of Abia state, on Thursday, said he is up to date in payment of workers salaries, adding that out of the 31,000 employees in Abia state workforce, 29,000 are up to date in payment.
The governor during an interview with Channels TV insisted that no core civil servant in the state is owed salary, rather those complaining of non-payment of salaries are workers serving in parastatals.
He explained that parastatals generate revenue for the government and in turn receive subvention from the state government while they are expected also to pay themselves using the revenue they generated.
“no core civil servant is being owed any salary.
“I have 31,000 workers in Abia workforce and 29,000 of them are up to date as we speak in salary payment… Parastatals receive subvention. I don’t pay their salaries because they are revenue-generating agencies of government,” Ikpeazu said.
The governor noted also that the issue of non-payment of pension and salaries has been in existence long before he assumed office and he has done his best to settle them with the expectation that his successor will continue from where he stopped.
“But I don’t run away from responsibility, the issue of pension has been there perennially since the past 24 years. I did as much as I could, this government since inception passed through two to three recessions.
“When I came, within three months of my administration, I paid eleven months arrears of salary. Those eleven months were there while I was governor. So, if you take up position as governor you have accepted to take over both liability and asset and I don’t like to complain.
“I didn’t have to talk about what my predecessors did not do because what gave me my job in the first place was that there were things they didn’t do. So, for somebody to come and make a sweeping statement that no salary is being paid is a lie, I am not owing any core civil servant salary,” Ikpeazu said.
The issue of non salary payment has been in existence in Abia state, however, under the present administration, non-payment of salaries have run into years as some workers lament not receiving payment for 2 years and above as the case may be.
The most affected persons are teachers, health workers and civil servants in various parastatals including pensioners who are claiming non-payment of pensions for over 50-months.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has severally argued that he pays workers while those who are lamenting non payment of salaries are either ghost workers or non -core civil servants.
According to the governor, parastatals who generate revenue are supposed to pay their workers and not leverage on the government to pay salaries even though they receive subventions.
Non-payment of salaries in the education and health sector especially had led to the suspension of rector (s) of the Abia state Polytechnic by the state government and the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) withdrawing it’s accreditation from the Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), Aba.
On so many occasions, teachers and doctors have embarked on strike, protesting non-payment of salaries.
