By Ugochukwu Alaribe

UMUAHIA- The Peoples Democratic Party PDP, Abia State chapter, has tasked Gov. Alex Otti, to clear outstanding salaries owed workers in the state, stressing that the amount of funds the state receives from the Federal Allocation Accounts Committee, FAAC, is enough to clear the arrears of salaries owed workers and also attend to other needs of the people.

The party also asked Otti to come clean on the issue of salaries of staff of the Abia State University, ABSU, Uturu, and other workers in the State and ensure that the outstanding salaries are cleared with immediate effect.

In a statement signed by PDP’s Acting state publicity secretary, Elder Abraham Amah, the party explained that its attention was drawn to a press release issued by the ABSU branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, where it faulted claims by Governor Otti that he has cleared salaries of workers of the university lecturers and urged the Governor to stop politicizing the issue of salary payment to its members who are under heavy financial burdens.

The PDP insisted that the rebuttal by ASUU to the Governor did not come to it as a surprise but it never knew the Governor would resort to treating lecturers and other workers of an institution that produces the workforce for Abia and other states ‘with such levity and insensitivity.’

It said; “The attention of the Abia PDP has been drawn to a press release issued by the Abia State University branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, wherein it refuted claims by Governor Alex Otti, that he has cleared salaries of workers of the state owned university and warned the Governor to stop politicizing the issue of salary payment to its members who are under heavy financial burdens.

“According to ASUU, the true position is that the salaries of ABSU workers are not up to date, and have been paid haphazardly, even as many are yet to receive many months salaries. Worse is the unexplained deductions ranging between N8,000 and N53,000 that were made at source from the accounts of the few that have received their salaries.

“The rebuttal by ASUU did not come to us as a surprise, and we know that Abians are not surprised too because they are getting used to the penchant of the present government to dish out lies couched in Adolf Hitler’s Nazi-style destructive propaganda to deceive the people.

“The Abia PDP is deeply concerned that the Governor will resort to treating lecturers and other workers of an institution that produces the workforce for Abia and surrounding States with such levity and insensitivity.

“It has become typical of the Alex Otti administration to push out half-truths and unfounded lies just to defend its direction less policies and inability to fulfill the promises it made to the people during the campaigns. At every turn, the present government has shown itself as an enemy of workers. Few days after he assumed office, he sacked all the permanent secretaries, more than 15,000 workers and embarked on endless verifications that have left many workers unpaid for more than one year.

“The case of pensioners is worse as he claimed to have cleared their 9 or 10 years pensions. The senior citizens deserve to be treated better and must not be lied to or used as an alibi to fritter the state’s resources.

“The case of the staff of Abia State University Teaching Hospital, ABSUTH, Aba, is more pathetic and we lack the superlatives to qualify their condition which has forced many of the them, especially consultants to seek for greener pastures overseas, leaving the remaining with a huge workload that is not commensurate with their status and the epileptic payment of their salaries and allowances.

“As we write, ABSUTH is a shadow of itself as the caregivers are disenchanted with the Governor who has failed to fulfill his campaign promises.

“Abia PDP calls on Governor Alex Otti to come clean on the issue of salaries of staff of ABSU, and other workers in the State and ensure that the outstanding salaries are cleared with immediate effect, because the receivables from the Federation Allocation Account Committee, FAAC, is more than enough to clear the outstanding salaries and do much more for the good people of Abia State.”