RSG, PDP Disagree Over Workers’ Salary Delay

The Rivers State Government has expressed dismay at the deliberate falsehood and distortion of facts being peddled by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state over the salary status of civil servants. The government said the claim by PDP was meant to undermine the cordial relationship between workers and the Rivers State Government, and by so doing, turn facts and figures upside-down.

The state PDP, had in a statement, said that the Rivers State Government was owing civil servants months salaries, pledging that the incoming government would not owe workers their due salaries and allowances.

While the workers have not been paid their April salaries, a few have been paid March salaries.

The dismissal of the PDP claim was contained in a statement by Rivers State Commissioner of Information and Communications in Port Harcourt, Ibim Semenitari, who said the resort to deliberate falsehood by PDP shows mischief.

”We find it ridiculous that PDP and Nyesom Ezebunwo Wike’s media managers show lot of mischief and deliberate distortion of facts. We thought that if they lied during campaigns and electioneering, with election over, they would switch over to basic media style of information sourcing, verification and analysis. The rudimentary step in that is the sourcing and use of data, a critical segment available to even cob reporters”, the statement read in part.

The commissioner, who wondered where the PDP got its information of months of salary owed Rivers State civil servants, said that rather, it is PDP that owes Rivers people the return of its revenue diverted by the Federal Government to other states as well as the millions spent by Governor Chibuike Amaechi to fix federal government roads in the state.

“Governor Chibuike Amaechi has paid civil servants up to the month of March with plans to commence payment for the month of April. Amaechi had committed himself to the welfare of Rivers civil servants these past seven years and had exemplified that by regular payment of salaries in the face of dwindling national revenue” the statement noted.. Rivers State is one of less than five states in the federation that have been able to keep up with salary payments in the face of dwindling federal allocations”, it added.

While apologising on the recent delays in salary payment, Semenitari reiterated Gov. Amaechi’s stand that civil servants must receive their wages for each month. She traced the delay in payment of salaries to collapsing national economy due to PDP’s mismanagement.

“PDP’s mis- management of the national revenue as well as its elevation of corruption to a national religion has been responsible for dwindling federal allocation. In recent times, the Federal Government has had to withhold allocations meant for states, Rivers State being one of such unfortunate states”, she emphasised.

The statement, which accused PDP of crying wolf where there was none, described the statement as diversionary and meant to cover their obvious inadequacies.

“In its fatal admittance that it is approaching May 29 with more liabilities than assets, PDP sold the dummy to unsuspecting Rivers people and friends of the state to create an impression that Amaechi was leaving behind a pile of indebtedness. This is dummy sold ahead to lay foundation for the agony Rivers civil servants will face in their hands.

“By deliberately withholding civil servants’ wages, the party will claim it was because Amaechi had left a pile of debts and that they were sorting it out. This is a complete fallacy as the state’s debt profile is among the lowest in the country”, the statement said. “We will publish our records for Rivers people and the whole world to see”, Semenitari stressed.

“The Amaechi administration has nothing to hide. However, we must put the records straight as to the root cause of PDP’s paranoia. The party’s candidate, who was declared winner of the April 11 governorship election, with his team, is coming to loot the treasury of Rivers State. ”With several thugs hired to commit electoral malfeasances for the PDP – with about 11 ‘elected’ into the state House of Assembly – who must demand their settlement, the state treasury will be sucked dry. To begin to prepare the minds of civil servants who consequentially will be owed months of salary, PDP had to raise the falsehood, “the statement added.

The statement reiterated Amaechi’s commitment to t he wellbeing of civil servants in the state. ”Gov. Amaechi is going to pay all due salaries before he leaves office and hopes that whoever shall have taken over from him then, will follow in this step. Rivers State civil servants, who have been the engine room of Amaechi’s administration, deserve a great deal of respect from PDP which should not hide under any cloak to ridicule them or deny them their due”, Semenitari