Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has directed the Accountant General of the state, Mrs Njum Onyemenam, to ensure that all verified workers in the state civil service receive their salary for June before Wednesday, June 28, 2023.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Kazie Uko, in a statement on Tuesday, cited the governor’s promise to pay the monthly salaries of civil servants in the state on or before the 28th of every month.
The governor gave the directive on Monday after a meeting with the Accountant General and some other senior members of his government.
Governor Otti, in his inaugural speech to the people of Abia on May 29, promised that under his watch salaries of civil servants will be paid latest on the 28th of every month.
The governor expressed dissatisfaction with the distinction between the so-called “core” and “non-core” civil servants, adding that from June 2023, the state would settle all salary and pension obligations by the 28th of every month.
He noted that the Abia State Civil Service would run differently under his administration.
Otti further explained that as part of measures to unmask “ghost workers” in the civil service, the state government would embrace technology.
The move, he stated, is to “determine those who had been genuinely employed and those who are actively stealing from the public treasury.”
He added, “Merit shall take prominence and only those who demonstrate requisite diligence in the discharge of their duties shall remain in the service. Technology will be used to support the Civil Service in the State.”
