Abia Health Workers 12 Months Unpaid Salaries: Workers Cry Out, Ichita Calls For Ikpeazu’s Resignation

Reacting to the development, the honorable member representing Aba South Constituency, Honorable Obinna Ichita stated that the action of the state government is deliberate attempt to indirectly sentence the citizens to death through non payment of the salaries.

The Abia state Hospital Management Board again has protested over 12 Months of unpaid salaries, the workers in a protest, cried out saying that government has turned the Board into a place of frustration pain and death.

The workers staged a protest in front of the gate which was under lock and key,  the workers carried placards which some of them read, “save our souls in HMB, Our children are dying of hunger, Pay HMB workers there 12 months salary arrears, Our landlords are on our necks for house rent”.

Speaking during the protest, the state chairman of Allied Action Committee, comrade Echeta Chikezie said they are here to protest there 12 months of unpaid salaries. He noted that last year 2021, government paid the basic salaries of 2019, he said they accepted it because of the suffering they were going through.

He said there was an agreement with government that from 2022 they will be paid along side with core ministries and as at when due. “Government gave us false hope, they reneged from their agreement and till date we have not receive any salary”.

“We have decided to be working outside the gate instead of working inside and dying inside”.

Chikezie regretted that they have been made to protest all the time before they are paid, “this is how we are paid we must lock up the gate, protest, cry out, plead before payment, workers deserve there wages, is our right not a privilege”.

He cried out at the rate their workers are dying out of frustration, suffering and hunger “we buried three of our members last week and three are in the mortuary, no money to bury them, one of us a young lady has recently developed mental problem, she walk about on the street aimlessly”.

Speaking also the state chairman, Medical Health Workers Union of Nigeria HMB branch comrade Chidimma Mary Nwokoma said they are going through hell, “we are treated with so much wickedness and pain”.

She regretted that since the inception of governor Okezie Ikpeazu administration, they have suffered much, she said they must protest before they get one month salary.

“Our heart is bleeding that the governor whose mother retired as a nurse, a health worker can hate us this much, we are treated like a second class citizens, our children are thrown out of school,

She revealed that they are in pain because one of their female colleague suddenly develop mental issue out of frustration due to non payment of salary,

Reacting also a staff of HMB, Nkechi Gabriel reiterated that a HMB woman in her home can not take care of her family and a HMB child can not go to school, “I was taken to court recently by my landlord because I could not pay my rent, the judge whose sister is a staff of HMB and aware of our our plight had mercy on me”.

She regretted that their office of recent have been witnessing death of staff due to untold hardship.

Reacting to the development, the honorable member representing Aba South Constituency, Honorable Obinna Ichita stated that the action of the state government is deliberate attempt to indirectly sentence the citizens to death through non payment of the salaries.

“I strongly agree with the majority of our people, who maintain that non-payment of salaries to any worker is against the biblical injunction that “…a worker deserves his wages” ( Mathew 10 Vs 10)”.

He therefore called all men of good conscience to rise and demand immediate explanation from Abia state government as to why workers in the health management board and indeed in other agencies and establishments in Abia state are being owned many months of salary arrears, even as the state receives revenue from a plethora of source  other than the statutory allocation from the federation account.

Ichita demanded that Abia State Government should relieve the Commissioner for health, the commissioner for finance as well as the accountant general of Abia State of their jobs.

“This is because health workers are essential service providers, hence effort must be sustained at all times to ensure that the health of the citizens are not jeopardized in any manner form or shape. It follows that the condition of service of essential workers should always receive priority attention from any responsible government”.

“That the salaries of these staffers have not been paid in the last 12 months is not only a demonstration of gross administrative ineptitude, it is a sin before God”.

“If the Governor of Abia State for any reason, is not willing and ready to do the needful by instilling sanity in the health sector in our dear  state, then the Governor, his deputy and other political office holder, who watched in silence while this gross negligence and inhuman treatment of health care workers in Abia continued, should resign”.

“But we know that like all known oppressors recorded in history, they will not accept this honest advice, the best thing is for the masses to force them out using our votes when the time comes”.

He finally called on the people of Abia state to take back their state as the government of state has literarily abandoned its duty of protection of lives and properties but is fixated on the politics of 2023.