Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has addressed the persistent issue regarding salary deductions, which was raised by civil servants recently.
On Friday night, at a media briefing held in the Government House of Umuahia, Governor Otti provided an explanation regarding the deductions and cleared up any confusion.
After receiving reports from workers about mysterious reductions in their pay, the governor recognized that the state government had launched an inquiry.
According to the results, the difference in pay was caused by switching from last year’s tax rate to a newer one. This change resulted in certain workers feeling like they received less money.
According to Otti, although some individuals perceived a decline in their earnings, our inquiry revealed that the underlying issue was outdated taxation. We have since shifted towards implementing the current 2021/2022 tax legislation.
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He denied accusations of intentional embezzlement from employees’ wages by pointing out that the payment system – transferring salaries directly from the state’s account to workers’ accounts – offered no opportunity for such misconduct.
The governor commented that it is challenging to envision any possible tampering with the funds after they have left the state’s account and are credited to employees.
Moreover, Governor Otti tackled apprehensions regarding unequal pay rates in different Local Government Areas by ascribing such variations to recent tax reductions without any deliberate malpractice.
The governor announced a fresh policy for remunerating civil servants’ overtime work, highlighting that such payments will now be applicable only for tasks expressly demanded by the government. He stated, “Overtime payouts were more frequent earlier; however, going ahead, they’ll occur solely on explicit requests from the authorities.”
Governor Otti stated that a committee was created to assess the recent federal declaration of N70,000 as minimum wage during discussions regarding this matter.
He stressed that salary adjustments are probable across all levels and not limited to the minimum wage.
According to the governor, “In light of the recent minimum wage announcement, we will have to revise salaries for all civil servants. We are currently in talks with the Nigerian Labour Congress to identify a practical solution that is consistent with our state’s financial capacity.”
He guaranteed that the state government considers the new minimum wage problem as a primary concern and has already incorporated provisions for salary hikes in the budget review phase.
The distribution of palliative measures, including rice trucks from the Federal Government allocated to the most vulnerable in society like those with lower ranks in civil service was addressed by Governor Otti.
