Otti Earmarks N18bn To Offset Varsity Workers’ Salary Arrears

The Abia State government has promised to pay an estimated N18bn to offset all outstanding salary arrears owed to various tertiary institutions in the state by the immediate-past government.

The  Commissioner for Information and Culture, Okey Kanu, revealed the information after the weekly Executive Council meeting.

He said the payment would commence in August with N1.5bn to be disbursed monthly over the next 12 months.

Kanu said the government took decisive steps to address the issue of delayed payment as the governor met with the Vice Chancellor and members of the university’s Governing Council to resolve their financial concerns.

He said the governor, at the meeting, directed the Accountant General to ensure the immediate payment of all outstanding monthly salaries of ABSU staff, for both verified and unverified staff within the week.

Many stated: “In the course of the meeting, Governor Otti directed the Accountant General to ensure that within the week, all outstanding salaries are paid, and this will apply to those who have been verified and those yet to be verified.

“The governor directed that the verification team be relocated to Abia State University to conclude all outstanding issues of verification of staff.” 

The commissioner said as part of the commitments to improve the welfare of the staff of the university, salaries for April, May and June had been paid.

“So there’s no gainsaying the fact that the governor is committed to enhancing the welfare of the university staff as never done before by previous administrations,” Kanu added.

Speaking on the security of lives and assets in public schools across the state, he said Otti mandated the Senior Special Adviser on Homeland Security to collaborate with the Ministry of Education to deploy security personnel to provide round-the-clock security for all schools in the state.

On the 'Light Up Abia Initiative', the commissioner said the recently-inaugurated JAAC building had been illuminated, adding that the programme had also been extended to Abia State University, to enhance security for students and staff of the institution."