The Campaign Council of the Governorship candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Dr. Alex Otti, has called on the Abia State government to clear the lingering salary arrears of its health workers.
In a press release signed by the Director General of its Campaign Council, Hon. Acho Obioma, the Council condemned the Abia State government for owing doctors and other medical and non-medical staff of the Abia State University Teaching Hospital and the State Health Management Board for as much as 24 months, describing it as callous, inhumane, insensitive and irresponsible.
The press release reads in part:
“It is shameful, indeed embarrassing, and beggars belief, that in this 21st century, any government could fail so abysmally in its most primary and basic duty of paying routine salaries to its workers for as much as two years. It bothers on outright lunacy when the workers are those of such a critical sector, dwelling literally on life itself.
“We must be clear, every worker deserves their wages. It is immoral for anyone to deny a labourer their just reward, much more, a government, in a democracy. One wonders if the State government has ever paused to ponder the many lives that must have been lost since this avoidable crisis began in the health sector. And pray, what does the Abia government do with its monthly allocation and revenue, considering that it’s neither building roads nor investing in its citizens?.
“We remain unequivocal that this impunity, heartlessness, and irresponsibility MUST STOP.
“The Abia State Government must be held accountable to its duties to the good people of Abia State, to the last day. In the twilight of its regime, it ought to be wary of leaving behind such odious legacy in such a critical sector. We therefore call on the State Government to hearken to the cries and supplications of its citizens, and clear the lingering salary arrears of its health workers at once. That is the minimum, that long suffering Abians deserve.”
