Civil servants in Abia State have taken a stand by locking out the State’s Accountant-General, Njum Onyemenam, from her office as a protest against unpaid salaries.
It was gathered that the workers, owed for numerous months, blocked entry to the Accountant-General’s office within the Ministry of Finance, preventing her from accessing the premises.
Sharing a video of the closure of gates on Tuesday, a witness told SaharaReporters that “all entrances leading to the Accountant-General’s office have been locked by the workers.”
Several employees disclosed that they had gone unpaid for as long as five months since the administration of the former governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, who ousted out of office by Governor Alex Otti during the last 2023 general election.
A month earlier, hundreds of civil servants had gathered in protest at the Accountant General’s office, highlighting the Alex Otti-led state government’s failure to pay their salaries.
This was amidst government claims of discovering over 2,300 ghost workers on the payroll and purported savings of over N600 million by halting payment to these entities.
The workers counter-argued that these claimed savings were, in fact, a product of their own hard work and dedication, now leaving them grappling with hunger due to the government’s actions.
The Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Mike Akpara, said that the state government was actively addressing the salary arrears, stressing that time would be needed for resolution.
“Some workers were owed over 30 months’ salary arrears by the immediate-past administration of Gov Okezie Ikpeazu,” Akpara said.
Watch the video below:
VIDEO: Workers lock Abia Accountant-General from office over non-payment of salary
— The Nation Nigeria (@TheNationNews) August 29, 2023
Some workers have prevented the Abia State Accountant-General from entering his office over non-payment of their salaries.
A video shared by a Facebook user, Prince Clinton Uba, on Tuesday,… pic.twitter.com/gpoOhSCKZP
LIVE from Office of the Accountant General, Umuahia, Abia State. Workers are angry.
— Akin Akinwale (@mrlurvy) August 29, 2023
Get a translator to interpret. I have done the work God sent me. pic.twitter.com/VncbTAAwah
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