Ugwuanyi Assures Civil Servants Of Peaceful Retirement

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi says his administration will do everything possible to ensure that civil servants in the state retire peacefully, in spite of its lean resources.
Ugwuanyi made the pledge in Enugu, on Thursday, while declaring open a one day symposium on Good Governance organised by the state Chapter of the Trade Union Congress.
The governor expressed regret that the state was grappling with an annual pension burden of N5 billion.
He, however, commended the state work force for their continued support to his administration.
Ugwuanyi described the workers as “trusted allies” and promised to serve them diligently and with the fear of God.
The governor said that his administration would fulfill all promises as the state resources permitted.
Presenting a keynote address, the President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief John Nwodo, appealed to workers in the state to shun Corrupt practices and improve on their productivity.
Nwodo noted with dismay that some civil servants engaged in corrupt practices, thereby holding down the state’s economy.
The Ohaneze chieftain said that some civil servants, particularly in the state water Corporation and ministry of land, had continued to defraud the state government even in the face of obvious economic challenges.
He alleged that workers in the water corporation defrauded the government by withholding water revenue.
“There is no land in the city that does not have three certificates of occupancy and this is perpetrated by workers in the ministry of lands.”
Nwodo appealed to civil servants take a cue from the state governor, whom he described as a prudent spender and good manager of human and material resources.
He said that it was time the workers changed their attitude to work in line with the agenda of the state government.
The former minister of information commended the efforts by the state government toward raising the education standard, adding, however, that a lot more needed to be done.
He said that the state could now be reckoned among the best 10 states in the Senior School Certificate Examinations.
Nwodo appealed to the state government to do more in the area of sanitation, adding that the Enugu State Waste Management Agency (ESWAMA) had performed poorly.
According to him, parts of the state capital ooze with stench due to the ineffectiveness of ESWAMA.
He commended the governor for his rural development initiatives, particularly the opening up of the university community at Nsukka.
Earlier, the state Chairman of the TUC, Comrade Chukwuma Igbokwe, said that the symposium was to appraise the performance of the state government in two years.
Our correspondent reports that the high point of the event was Ugwuanyi’s endorsement for a second term in office in 2019.