Commissioner for Finance, Abia State, Mr Mike Akpara, has said that Gov. Alex Otti inherited salary arrears of N16.5 billion from his predecessor.
The Commissioner who disclosed this while reacting to an allegation by some staff of Abia State University Uturu, ABSU, that the State Government was owing them for April and May, dismissed the allegation as false and malicious.
He explained that despite the huge salary arrears of workers that Otti met on the ground when he came on board, the Governor had been making spirited efforts to clear them and meet with other leadership responsibilities.
Akpara appealed to workers to be patient with the Government, stating that besides payment of salaries, the Government has to build infrastructure.
The Commissioner who addressed a press conference, yesterday in Umuahia,
said that the government had resolved to clear the arrears because of its concern about the welfare of workers.
He frowned at the attitude of those who are propagating blackmail against the government, adding that efforts are being intensified to clear the inherited arrears.
Akpara said it was unfair for people to call the Governor a liar over his magnanimity to clear debts he did not incur.
“For salary arrears, the governor has set up machinery to ensure that salary arrears would become a thing of the past.
“One thing I will promise is that it will be paid but it is not going to be in one sweep.
“We will do it in instalments so that it does not hamper the progress of another sector of the economy,” he said.
The Commissioner said that the Government would commence payment of the salary arrears owed workers of state-owned institutions of learning by July or August, “with the hope of completing payments by the end of the year.”
The Commissioner explained that contrary to allegations, the State Government had paid the salary arrears for April and May for ABSU staff.
Akpara said that contrary to lies, 1,195 verified ABSU staff had been paid their April and May salaries.
He said that 235 staff are unverified, 27 disabled, while 19 names were found in different institutions, adding that 407 staff who have accounts with ABSU Microfinance bank are not compliant.
The Commissioner said it would be unfair to blackmail the state because of individual staff challenges in getting their salaries due to banking issues.
He further said that the Government decided to assume the responsibility of paying for ABSU bills, hence the decision to ask the university management to pay its revenue to the Government.
According to him, the ABSU wage bill is about N320 million a month, hence the decision of the Government to pay the staff directly.
The Commissioner said that the era of “generate and spend is over”, explaining that the decision is aimed at sanitizing the system.
“We decided to run away from situations where subventions are being given to them, yet they cannot pay salaries.
“In the past, there was something called generate and use and we noticed that things were not being done properly, a situation where salaries are being owed for 11 months, 33 months, and 22 months, respectively, in most of those institutions.
“The past government owed Abia Polytechnic -33 months, College of Education Arochukwu -22 months, and Abia State University -11 months.
“Hospital Management Board was owed for several months. Theirs was humongous.
“We also have ASUBEB and SEMB, the total amounts being owed to them is over N4 billion.”
The Commissioner further dispelled speculations that Otti’s administration had borrowed money, insisting that the Governor has been judiciously deploying the available resources.
He, however, said that the previous administration began the process of obtaining loans from the Africa Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank, but the money had not dropped.
According to him, both facilities – $115 million and $ 125 million respectively, when accessed, would be used to develop the critical sectors of the state.
On the grumblings over workers’ verification, Akpara said the lingering challenges are being addressed, urging anyone with issues to approach his office for assistance.
“We will continue to apply ourselves to the good works that the state requires to ensure that the people get the dividend of democracy”.
On wage award, the Commissioner appealed to workers to be patient with the Government, assuring that Gov. Otti has assured he would pay the new minimum wage when eventually resolved.
He also promised that the last set of retirement Permanent Secretaries would be paid their entitlements.
