By MATTHEW KALU

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship candidate in Abia State, High Chief Ikechi Emenike, has vowed to outlaw non-salary payment in the state if he emerges victorious in the 2023 governorship contest.

Chief Emenike told party faithful during a stakeholders meeting in Item, Bende local government area, that he would push for a law that would sack any administration in the state that fails to pay workers and pensioners for two consecutive months.

The Development Economist noted that the culture of non-salary payment has unleashed untold hardship on civil servants and pensioners, even as it was hurting the economy of the state.

“It is a crime against humanity that a civil servant, having put in his service, could not be paid his salary at the end of the month, while those who have retired from service are not paid their pension.

“Without paying pensioners and workers, will traders be happy? Because they patronize traders; so, it is a chain.

“We are going to make a law through the House of Assembly that any government in Abia State that did not pay salaries for the second month running stands automatically removed from office, so that if you don’t pay, you do not give an excuse,” the APC governorship standard bearer said.

He said he expects the government concerned to seek legal redress, but pointed out that it would have been booted out of office in the first place.

He alleged that those responsible for not paying workers and pensioners in the state do not display any form of empathy but were rather exhibiting ostentation.

“As you know now, they would not pay salary but they are buying houses everywhere, they are living big.

“Every private business person will tell you that after paying salary, by the 20th day of the next month, you start thinking of how to pay salary for the next month. But those in government will simply go to sleep and Abians are clapping for them. There will be a law against that. I know that they will go to court, but they would have been removed from office,” Emenike added.

He said that if he becomes governor and salaries were not paid, he would sack all the finance managers of the state.

“If it happens the first month and salary is not paid, I will sack the Commissioner of Finance, and the Accountant-General and all the people in the Finance Ministry chain and replace them and charge the new intakes to work even on weekends to pay everybody,” the Journalist-turned-businessman cum politician, said.

He promised to clear any salary arrears he may inherit, if Abians give him their mandate, promising to clear such a backlog within six months.

“And to correct this culture that has permeated, I am going to, for the first six months, pay those things through committees that will be revolving every two months, so that they can pay until it becomes part of our culture to pay people,” Emenike said.

He said he would achieve it because he was not new to paying salaries to workers. “The difference between me and other candidates is that some of them are government contractors or employees who are paid monthly. Since I was born, I employ and pay others. So, I am used to paying salaries, I am used to paying people,’ he said.

He said that if he wins, he would establish building blocks for development of the state.

“Our primary duty is to rescue and develop Abia. We cannot win elections and just go. From day one, you will see what we will do; we will establish building blocks of development.

The APC governorship candidate promised to create employment opportunities for the teeming youth of Abia by establishing industrial zones in each of the 17 local government areas of the state.