The Abia State Government has reaffirmed its pledge to cover the estimated 18 billion naira in unpaid salaries that the previous administration owes to the state’s numerous postsecondary institutions.
Prince Okey Kanu, the Commissioner for Information and Culture, revealed this on Monday during a press briefing regarding the conclusions of Governor Alex Otti’s Executive Council meeting this week.
He disclosed that the payments would start in August and be distributed on a monthly basis for the following twelve months, totaling 1.5 billion Naira.
Kanu stated that following a recent meeting in which the governor conferred with the vice chancellor and members of the university’s governing council to address and resolve their financial concerns, the government had taken decisive action to address the long-standing problems related to the monthly salary payment of Abia State University staff.
According to the commissioner, the governor gave the Accountant General instructions to make sure that all unpaid monthly payments for ABSU employees—both verified and unverified—are paid out right away within the next week.
“The governor was given the chance to resolve those outstanding issues during the meeting. He gave the accountant general instructions to make sure that all unpaid salaries—both those that have been confirmed and those that have not—are paid within the next week.
“To resolve any unresolved issues related to staff verification, the governor ordered the verification team to be moved to Abia State University,” Kanu said.
The commissioner pointed out that the governor has already paid the salaries for April, May, and June, while also emphasizing the governor’s dedication to enhancing the welfare of the university’s employees.
Prince Kanu stated, “There’s no disputing the fact that the Governor is dedicated to improving the welfare of the university’s staff as never done before by previous administrations.””
Otti, he said, also gave the Accountant General instructions to meet with the leaders of postsecondary institutions in order to coordinate their overhead spending requirements so that the government could address them appropriately.
The governor ordered the Senior Special Advisor on Homeland Security to work with the Ministry of Education to deploy homeland security personnel to provide round-the-clock security for all schools, according to the commissioner, who also addressed the issue of the safety of people and property in public schools throughout the state.
He emphasized that the program is a component of the government’s plan to protect lives as well as the significant financial commitments it is making to the education sector.
