Abia State Governrment said that all outstanding salaries and pensions in the State have been transmitted to banks for onward disbursement to their beneficiaries even as Governor Okezie Ikpeazu reminded the workers that “to whom much is given, much is expected” and urged them to reduce the time they spend on frivolities and focus on their work.
A statement issued by Mr. Sam Hart, Senior Special Adviser to the Governor, Public Communications, quoted the Chairman of the State Bailout Funds Management Committee, Mr. Obinna Oriaku as saying that the Committee worked in line with Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s directive to ensure that all salaries and pensions arrears in Abia State were offset by October 30, 2015.
Vanguard learnt that about N8 billion were so far disburseed for the payment of the arrears.
Meanwhile, the Government has frowned at the current monthly allocation to the 17 Local Governemnt Areas in the state which it put at a whopping N1.5 billion with wage bill of Local Governemnt workers alone put at 900 million, and urged the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) to cooperate with government in its ongoing workers verification exercise.
“Government wishes to urge the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) Abia State Chapter to cooperate with the on-going workers verification exercise as the current wage bill of Local Government Areas is unsustainable. The monthly wage bill of Local Government workers currently stands at N900million, excluding salaries to teachers (ASUBEB) and Local Government Pensions. The average monthly allocation to Local Governments Areas currently stands at N1.5 billion.
