Akwa Ibom governor Udom Emmanuel said his administration inherited a whopping N32 billion gratuity arrears from the previous administration.
Though Emmanuel who came to power in May 2015 did not give give period and a breakdown of the arrears, gratuity is usually paid public servants in civil service, public secondary and primary schools and local government civil service commission.
The governor who interacted with journalists in the state on Tuesday to round-off the 32nd anniversary celebrations of Akwa Ibom State debunked the notion that his administration was owing pensions to retirees.
However, investigation carried out by Straightnews shows that the state government is owing pensioners arrears of pensions.
While the state Accountant-General is religiously paying arrears of pensions up to 2015, the consultant asked to pay from 2016 is owing and fond of using pranks to wish away indebted pensioners,” a source in Accountant-General’s Office, Uyo confided in Straightnews.
At the media parley held at Banquet Hall, Government House, Uyo, the state chief executive praised his administration for regular payment of monthly salaries to public servants in the state.
“Whether we collect allocation or not, I make sure salaries are paid on time to civil servants and other in the public service. This is our commitment,” he said.
The Governor used the occasion to thank journalists for their contributions toward his re-election for a second term and also towards the success of the 32nd anniversary celebration of Akwa Ibom State.
He urged the journalists to use their numerical strength of 499 to report the development strides of the state in such areas as aviation, agriculture, education and industrialization, among others.
While congratulating the new NUJ executive and pledging his support to the new team, the Governor urged the press community to give the new NUJ Executive their utmost support and cooperation.
The Commissioner for Information, Charles Udoh Udoh thanked the Governor for approving the Health Insurance Scheme for 250 journalists and lauded the Governor’s media-friendly disposition in redefining the media world in Akwa Ibom State, and making the media community less volatile than it was at the inception of the administration.
The Chairman of the state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Comrade Amos Etuk who congratulated the Governor on his victory at the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal and pledged the Union’s support and contributions towards the development of Akwa Ibom State.
Etuk thanked him for the media chat and for the health Insurance scheme launched for journalists in the state, but appealed to the governor to assist the union in completing some ongoing projects at the press centre.
