A-Ibom Civil Servants Agonise Over Delayed Salaries

[Shola Sholaz]

Civil servants in Akwa Ibom State are lamenting delay in payment of salaries, particularly that of September.
.
The delay, which the civil servants said was as a result of the state government failing to save for the rainy day, has been partly attributed to the Federal Allocation Account Committee's inability to remit allocations to states.
.
Three weeks ago, the state Ministry of Finance said that civil servants should not expect payment of salaries regularly due to delay in the remittances of federal allocation.
.
State Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Mr. Unyime Usoro, condemned the statement, saying that the position was unacceptable to workers in the state.
.
Defending labour's decision, Usoro said that the statement by government would not only send out wrong signals, but implied that either the administration was not saving for the rainy day or was not generating internal revenue.
.
The reaction of the state NLC, culminated in the Office of the State Accountant-General taking a position that the state will pay workers salaries as they continue to receive in piecemeal, what comes in from FAAC.