The Abia State Government announced that unverified civil servants within the state will cease to receive salaries by the end of November.
This information was conveyed by the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu, during a briefing on Monday, following the State Executive Council meeting overseen by Governor Alex Otti.
Kanu emphasized that it was anticipated that all state workers would have undergone verification, as the exercise had been extended by an additional two weeks. Despite commencing the verification process in July, there remain employees who have yet to partake in this essential procedure.
Furthermore, the commissioner disclosed that the names of unverified staff have been documented within the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). These individuals are required to submit their necessary documents to their respective heads of establishments, who will subsequently pass them on to the verification committee for scrutiny.
“We expect that everybody that is a staff in the State ought to have been verified. We have a good number of people that haven’t done that. Some didn’t appear at all, some did and could not complete for various reasons”, he said.
Kanu also said that the 197 schools recently shut down by the State Government have been given a window of opportunity to get their act together, adding that those that meet the guidelines may be reopened.
According to him, the Government has set a target date for compliance, stressing that those committed to meeting the standard would be reopened.
“So Government is carrying out reforms, Government set a certain standard. Government has a target base to ensure that all the schools in the State are complying but those in the private sector have not committed themselves in such a manner.
“The major reason the government decided to shut down those schools is principally because of substandard in their curriculum and quality of teachers and some of them because of environment. So that’s the reason we said those who are committed to changing the way they operate and can meet the standards that Government has set up, Government will allow them to get back to work.”
He said that the Abia State Government would soon launch a Whistle Blower policy, which according to him would mark a significant milestone in the State Government’s effort to do things differently.
In his remark, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Special Duties, Dr. Betty Emeka Obasi, advised that all unverified workers go to their MDAs with their documents to back their claims.
She said, “As many as found their names there, ought to have gone back to their MDAs as we said, take the documents backing their claims that they ought to have been verified to their head of the unit. The head of the unit should further send these documents to the body that is doing the verification.
“From this month, if you are unverified you won’t get a salary, because it is a government that has a human face, we have decided to open it to the end of the year. You can still go back to your Ministry for corrections to be made”, she said.
She explained that the decision to remove unverified staff from the payroll stemmed from Governor Otti’s administration’s compassion.
Otherwise, the individuals affected could face prosecution for receiving salaries without proper recognition as legitimate Abia State Government employees.
Additionally, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prince Uzor Nwachukwu, shared that the transition committee chairmen/Mayors of the Local Government Areas (LGAs) would be inaugurated later in the week, on Thursday.
He expressed optimism that their arrival would usher in increased grassroots development, utilizing allocated funds to directly benefit the local communities.
