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General News of Sunday, 12 March 2023

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Abia: Ikpeazu’s automatic promotion to workers not captured in 2023 budget – Lawmaker

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu Governor Okezie Ikpeazu

A lawmaker in Abia State, Obinna Ichita, has said that the 2023 Appropriation Act passed by the state House of Assembly did not capture the State Government’s automatic promotion to local government workers.

Mr Ichita, representing Aba South State Constituency, made the disclosure while speaking with reporters in Umuahia on Friday.

He was reacting to the automatic promotion announced by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu during a meeting with civil servants in the state on Thursday.

He said: “The automatic promotion to local government workers coming barely by one week to the election is a mere subterfuge.

“There are workers who are owed up to 36 months salary arrears and never enjoyed any promotion for many years under Ikpeazu’s administration.

“The governor has not paid workers allowance and other entitlements since he assumed office in 2015.

“Therefore, the announcement is deceptive and cannot fly.

“Also, there is no provision in the 2023 budget to cover the salaries for the promotion.

“If he was genuine, he would have increased the provision for recurrent expenditure for us to assume that he planned to promote workers.”

Mr Ichita further described the governor’s gesture as “an insult on the collective sensibility of our people.

“It shows that he thinks that the workers are fools to be carried away by his unrealistic promise,” he said.

Other unfulfilled promises

The lawmaker advised the workers to ignore the pronouncement and take it as one of the governor’s “phoney promises”.

“He promised to build Enyimba Economic City, Education City at Owerrinta, reconstruction of Ahiaohuru and Ariaria markets in Aba before the end of 2021.

“He also promised an underground tunnel at Ifeobara Pond and revitalisation of the education and health sectors, but all these and many others have remained unfulfilled,” he said.

The lawmaker also took a swipe at the governor for not paying attention to critical roads in some parts of Aba, including the Port Harcourt Road, which he started but abandoned midway.

He also listed the Omuma Road, Obuohia Road and Ohanku Road, among the deplorable roads in the commercial city “begging for attention”.

He similarly expressed concern over the dilapidation of the Abia State University Teaching Hospital, Aba, saying that the only functional unit at the facility was the mortuary.

Mr Ichita, who is the APGA deputy governorship candidate, spoke about APGA’s prospects in the 18 March elections.

He said APGA bears the “Igbo identity”, and was “fully acceptable” to the people of the state.

“APGA will win the governorship poll overwhelmingly because our people believe in us,” he said.

He described APGA governorship candidate, Greg Ibe, as the candidate to beat.

According to him, Mr Ibe, a professor, is the highest single private employer of labour, with an enormous investment in education in the state.

“Others take their investments to other cities because they say that there is no significant return on investment in Abia,” Mr Ichita said.

He also said that beyond building a university, the Gregory University, Uturu, Mr Ibe was also making substantial contributions to the health sector through his free medical and surgery services to the people.