Abia State Governor Dr. Alex Otti has disclosed reason why the state is yet to commence the payment of the N70,000 new minimum wage to civil servants in the state.

Speaking to journalist at Government House Umuahia, Otti stated that the payment has been delayed because the committee he set up to work with the organized labour in the state has been waiting for the organized labour while the latter is waiting for the organized labour at the centre.

He disclosed that the organized labour in the state stated that they would like to get a directive from the centre before they resume their talks with the committee.

He said; “I believe in the new minimum wage and that should also happen very soon. What is the issue at the moment is that the committee we set up to work with labour has been waiting for labour and labour in Abia has been waiting for labour at the centre. They said they would like to get a directive from the centre before they resume their talks with the committee. So we are waiting.”

On arrears of salaries owed workers by previous administrations, the Governor promised to offset the salaries from August as funds become available.

He, however stated that the arrears of the salaries should have been paid by those owe them, stressing that nobody should put a gun to his head because he was not the one who owed the salaries.

He also explained that some of the arrears of salaries owed are up to 33 and 36 months and were not disclosed until ‘not too long ago’.

“The arrears of salaries frankly speaking should have been taken care of by those who owed them. Somebody owed the salaries and you are holding somebody else responsible. Is that fair? So, when you come to speak because somebody has offered to clean the mess of somebody else, I think we should be a bit measured.

“And some of the arrears of salaries we are dealing with were actually not disclosed until not too long ago. And anytime I spoke in the past my predecessors will take on me as if I was lying. And the people that are being owed were quiet. So, as I came, I cleared the arrears of salaries of civil servants; some of them were being owed from January to March and we paid the all. And then, the institutions of ABSUTH, College of Education Technical,Arochukwu and Abia Poly. Those ones we entered into an arrangement with them.

” Some of them were owed for 33 to 36 months. And we are taking them one after the other. We are paying back debts because we believe that government is a continuum. Whatever you find you deal with it and move on.

‘But if I have said that I going to clear the arrears, nobody should put a gun to my head because I was not the one owing them. I do not owe anybody, I have not owed anybody. It is important to state that the debts were inherited. I have to pay them as resources are available. I have given instructions that the payment of arrears of salaries should start from August. If they have not been paid it is not because money was not made available. I have made money available. Maybe, there are things they are verifying. I believe in a few days those payments must happen. And once they start happening, that of September would follow suit and the rest of them will happen,” he added. (Vanguard)

Update news