Promotion & Salary: You’re dishonest — Activist Paul blasts governor Otti

A human rights activist and author, Comrade Paul Ikechukwu Njoku, has berated governor Alex Otti of Abia State, accusing him of not upholding his campaign promises of treating Abia civil servants and pensioners with due principles and  accomplishment of Civil Service Rules on basic emoluments, packages and promotion with follow-up salary payment.

Njoku, who cited incidences amongst other lamentation from some Abia civil servants, expressed disappointment why governor Otti should not have abruptly stopped the Abia State 2023 promotional salary – implementation.

In a press statenent sent to Diaspora Digital Media, comrade Paul said: “I am an Umuahia boy of over 4 decades of my life in the state. I have clinically studied the utter dishonesty and unaccountability of Governor Alex Otti’s trajectory against civil servants and pensioners including his lack of transperancy and accountability on project implementation and contract awards.

“Mr. governor has jettisoned and permanently discarded upholding his campaign promises of treating Abia civil servants and pensioners with due principles and accomplishment of Civil Service Rules on basic and swift emoluments, packages and promotion with follow-up salary payment.

“In my view, he is dishonest to have abruptly stopped the 2023 promotional salary – implementation of  countless number of civil servants in the state who mostly are lamenting of the selective treatment and gross malfeasances of the governor. The mantra of his “retrofition” of public buildings in the state has turned to comedy. The macabre of operation and retrofiting of Abia State specialist hospital is laughable. The bitter lamentation of many abandoned and forsaken lecturers and staffers of Abia State University, Uturu, is not dignifying.

“The inconclusive but sad controversy on the recruitment of teachers and the proposed but purported recruitment of health workers and medical doctors whom he openly promised to pay 500 thousand naira per month is a story for another day. The pensioners who were deceived and coerced by the governor to sign-off their aged-longed  pensions are suffering and dying in numbers having not seen the governor revisited the fraudulent coercion as promised..

“It seems that the governor is not aware that the civil servants and pensioners whom he entered a social contract at campaigns during the 2023 general elections were solely responsible for his emergence as governor of Abia State. I make bold to say that Abia Civil Servants and Pensioners have lost trust and confidence in him.

“Yesterday, one Mr. Martins Ngumoha, made a heartfelt submission in ‘Abia State Equity Group’ where he wrote: “Goodevening my highly respected Abia Equity group.i wish to express great concern on what is happening in civil servants in this Administration in Abia State, Since I started work as a civil servant in Abia state, this is the first time we have suffered dehumanization in service in terms of promotions. Since our amiable Governor came to power, we have suffered untold hardship concerning our salary, ranging from one verification to another, instability of our salary grade level as per our monthly salary, no implementation of our 2021 promotion which the previous Government started bt stopped by the present Government. Implemented again in August 2023.then stopped implementation after then. I wish to beg all those “BIG MEN” in this group as a matter of urgency to plead wt our wonderful pragmatic Governor to look into our plight for most of us are dying in silence, we can no longer feed or Carter for our families. Most of our workers are on their way out as a result of the eight years policy by His Excellency. For some of our workers may not be alive to witness the next elections come 2027 as a result of not meeting up to their responsibilities occasioned by this stagnation of our grade levels because the more u grow in service the more responsibility. Pls, do not misunderstand me, I came in peace.Thanks and God bless u all”.

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook