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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Some civil servants in Abia State on Tuesday barricaded the office of the Accountant General of the state, Mrs. Njum Onyemenam over alleged non payment of salary.
The protesting civil servants who blocked the entrance to the Accountant General’s office on Bank Road, Umuahia said despite the promise of Governor Alex Otti to pay them by the 28 of every month, they were yet to receive their salary
As the workers barricaded entrance to the AG’s office, they sang solidarity songs and totally condemned the non payment of their salaries.
It was gathered that when the AG, who had been at the International Conference Centre where Government was hosting an event marking the 32nd anniversary of the creation of Abia, unaware of what was happening, attempted to come to her office, on seeing the protesters, her vehicle made a detour to avoid a collusion course with the protesters. One of the protesters said it was wrong after the Governor had given directives for their salaries to be paid, the office of the Accountant General would refuse to pay them.
“Since two months now, I am yet to receive my salary. They could not pay me last month and when I, alongside others complained, they asked us to fill forms which we did. But to our greatest surprise, this month again, we were not paid.”
The workers threatened that if by Tuesday next week, they were not paid, they would call out local government workers in the state who have similar problems to join in what they said would be mother of all protests in the state.
Reacting, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor, Kazie Uko said the AG was not chased out of office by protesters as was reported in some quarters.
In a statement, Uko said the Accountant General said she had approached the entrance gate to the annex of the Government House area housing her office and those of some other Government functionaries, when she saw a handful of individuals trying to access the gate but were prevented by security men on duty.
