Earlier this evening a journalist working with a national daily called me to verify a story that staff of Abia State Water Board are owed 2 months salary and that a certain woman working in the ministry is frustrating the staff and refusing to allow them get their pay like others.
I got across to the Commissioner of Finance and the relevant pay roll officer to make enquiries so as to respond to the journalist factually and truthfully.
1. The staff of the relevant ministry (Public Utility) confirmed receiving September 2017 salary whereas others in the remaining 56 MDAs in the state have received October salary.
There are 57 MDAs in Abia State.
2. The only reason workers of the water board are yet to receive October 2017 salary is because of wrong entries made to the new online payment platform (BVN based) of the state which required correction of the figures from the source document.
3. The correction has now been effected and submitted today. Affected workers are expected to receive their October salary between tomorrow and Tuesday in their bank accounts as the funds for payment are already at the bank awaiting electronic authorization of payment.
4. No state in Nigeria has received FAAC money in lieu of November 2017 because of the issues that led to the boycott of FAAC by commissioners of finance of the 36 states. With Friday being public holiday it is expected that FAAC meeting will now hold next week and after that salary will drop for November.
Incidentally there was another media person from Lagos who was with me when the call came in from the journalist. When she heard the journalist confirm that 56 out 57 MDAs in Abia State have received October salary she was enraged.
Do you know why?
She heard, read and believed that Abia State was owing as much as 8 months salary of all her workers.
Anyway, I explained to her the areas we have challenges, including revenue yielding Abia Poly that the Ikpeazu Administration bailed out with N2b in 2015 and ABSUTH that we paid outstanding 11 months salaries on the expectation that the management of those 2 institutions will start on a sound footing, generate income and prioritize workers salaries. We even paid many months of subventions to those two institutions and yet they are owing workers and still claiming operational autonomy.
There are also challenges with LGAs where we have 3 months outstanding salaries.
We will sort out the issues at Abiapoly, ABSUTH and the LGAs the same way we have sorted ABSU and today they are update with workers salary.
It is instructive to note that even with outstanding subventions ABSU Uturu is able to pay workers salary from fees paid by students because of good financial management by the authorities of the school.
More importantly, Governor Ikpeazu will continue to deliver on the 5 pillars of his administration; including reconstructing many Abia roads for the use of Abians and visitors.
Support your Governor and pray for him to do much more. He is self motivated to serve Ndi Abia well.
JOK
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