The Special Adviser to Akwa Ibom State Governor on Labour and Productivity, Mr. Ekpenyong Enyinna, has dismissed as false the allegations that Governor Udom Emmanuel had labeled civil servants in the state as unproductive and lazy.
Enyinna, who spoke on this and other issues recently, said that considering the background of the Governor as a banker; he is thorough with words and could not have made such statement in any forum.
Noticeably rumours have been trending on the media spaces for the past few days, claiming that Governor Emmanuel, while responding to the demands and threats by the state chapter of the Nigerian Labour Union (NLC) had said that he had no time to negotiate with lazy and unproductive civil servants in the state.
In his response, Enyinna retorted: “How can the Governor call the workers of Akwa Ibom lazy and unproductive considering the fact that most of these persons are graduates with Masters Degree and PhD holders from within and outside the country? Do you believe that the Governor would make that kind of statement? Absolutely not true. Even the Head of Civil Service is highly educated and is well respected by the Governor.”
On the complains that some persons in the civil service were being owed 10 months salaries, Enyinna explained that all newly recruited civil servants who have been authenticated have been paid while admitting that some anomalies are still undergoing the process of authentication as a committee has been set up headed by the Commissioner for Education, Elder Aniekan Akpan, to verify the remaining cases and ensure that all genuine workers are paid as soon as possible.
“I think it is better we should appreciate Governor Udom Emmanuel rather than peddle all these blackmail, the issue of the newly recruits is an instance where we have witnessed the heart of a compassionate Governor despite the retrogressing allocation from the Federal Government, which is less than even a quarter of what it used to be,” he advised.
Enyinna maintained that the administration of Governor Emmanuel has done a lot within its eight months in office and is still focused on delivering its promises to the people, hence the influx of investors into the state.
He also stated that the Governor has the interest of Akwa Ibom people at heart, which is why workers salaries have been up to date and on time, including that of pensioners even as the State looks forward to a productive contributory pension policy, adding that “in totality the Governor’s decision to pay gratuities to retirees who were owed for over ten years is beyond leadership but about conscience, compassion, equity, fair play and justice.”
