Governor gives one million Naira each to 150 best Polytechnic Students to start business
The Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, on Friday December 6, directed the duo of the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, and Accountant General to ensure that all staff of the Dr Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic Aba (formerly Abia state Polytechnic) who were sacked unjustly by the immediate past administration are paid their salary arrears.
The Source reports that in 2019, over 254 staff of the institution were sacked on purely politically motivated grounds.
As at the time of their retrenchment, they were owed about 16 months salaries.
Similarly, in 2021, another sect of about 98 staffers were thrown out. They equally left without their 23 months of salaries, and other entitlements, a situation that threw them into a state of unmitigated hardship.
However, with the current administration making good its earlier promise to pay all backlog of inherited salaries in twelve tranches effective September this 2024, the sacked workers and others who had retired from service,were curiously omitted .
So far, those still in service, who were being owed about 33 months arrears have been paid four out of the scheduled 12 tranches.
The non-inclusion of the sacked and retired workers in the salary arrears payments, expectedly provoked both open and subtle agitations from the affected staff.
But speaking at the 19- 21 combined Convocation ceremony of the Polytechnic on Friday, Governor Otti, informed that he has directed the SSG and the Account General, of the State to ensure that the arrears of salaries of the sacked staff, including others who are no longer on the payroll of the polytechnic but are being owed by the past administration are paid.
The Governor noted that his administration has already commenced the payment of the arrears to the polytechnic staff ,since September this 2024.
He also emphasized that Government, in addition to the servicing of the inherited salaries, has been religious in the payment of monthly salaries to the staff of the institution, as well as others in the State since mounting the saddle in May 2023 .
The Governor reaffirmed his administration’s commitment towards improving both the standard of education and the welfare of the workforce in the State.
“Our commitment to education has brought about extensive financial support to all the State-owned institutions regularly and prompt payments of salaries and allowances to the teaching and non-teaching staff, and offsetting of their outstanding salary arrears owed staff working in our institutions as well as other measures designed to cushion the effects of the hardship visited on the workers by the previous administration”, Governor stated.
While lamenting the serious neglect suffered by the education sector during the past administration, Governor Otti reassured of his dedication to giving the needed support to all public educational institutions in the State.
He informed that Abia state has paid about four years of accumulated counterpart funds to the Universal Basic Education UBEC.
According to him, UBEC has also written to affirm its willingness to release funds to support the education sector in the State.
To underscore the importance attached to the development education, Governor Otti further said that ,his administration will be allocating 20 percent of the 2025 budgetary estimate to education just like in the outgoing 2024 fiscal year.
The Governor announced that he would give the sum of one million Naira business grant to each of the 150 best graduating students of the Polytechnic.
Fifty graduates will be selected from the three sets of graduands at the Convocation, while prospective beneficiaries.will be required to forward business proposals to that effect.
He promised also to improve the internal road network of the Polytechnic, with a view to adding to its aesthetic value .
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