Governor Alex Otti of Abia state has concluded plans to increase the salaries of the State workforce.
Otti disclosed this in Umuahia on Friday night during a media parley with journalists, stating that he is engaging with stakeholders to improve the minimum wage of the state workers and that very soon the package would be made public.
The reason for adjusting the package, he said, was in line with the realities at hand, especially the economy, adding that the recently retired permanent secretaries and directors would receive arrears of salaries and gratuities due to them while reassuring Abians of his commitment to defray pension arrears in the state.
“We do understand that things are a bit more difficult for the people. We are engaging with stakeholders to see how we can improve on the pay of civil servants in line with the present economic realities, where exchange rates have converged upwards and fuel subsidy has been removed and inflation is heading to 30%.
“We are already working to see how we can improve on not just the minimum wage but also across the line and announcement to that effect will be made in due course,” he said.
The governor also explained that he did not sack permanent secretaries in the state, stating that the officials were first placed on suspension and that their removal was in line with what was obtained at the federal level and that due process was followed.
He also explained that there are too many people in the state civil service and that the number has been “underreported. The number is beyond us”, stating that even in the Government House, there are many workers who are not doing anything and have been able to transfer out, 237 of them, who cannot be sacked.
