The Abia Times 2
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Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, January 17, 2017
N10b Paris Club refund: Govt searches for extra N700m to settle civil servants Stories by Sunday Nwakanma Umuahia
ÏÏÏ Abia State Government says it will
source for extra N700 million to augment the N5.3 billion to help offset the arrears owed workers in the state, adding that it has commenced the process of disbursing the N5.3 billion Paris club refund for payment of arrears of salaries owed workers in the state. This, the Government said, will enable it pay primary and secondary school teachers two months’ salary arrears from the Paris inflow funds, latest by next week.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Obinna Oriaku, who disclosed this to newsmen, said this followed the resolution of the committee set up for that exercise, stating that the state government dedicated the N5.3billion, being 50 percent of the first tranche of the N10.6 billion Paris Club refund to pay arrears of salaries and pensions. He added that the NLC, TUC, and NUP were part of the committee that presided over the distribution of the fund. The Finance commissioner, who commended the leadership of the NLC in the state for shelving its planned industrial action, also stated that the state govern-
ment is in talks with NUT to suspend its proposed strike in the state. According to him, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu increased the money from N5.3billion to N5.8 billion to enable the fund go round the MDAs, teachers, pensioners, including local government workers, while some MDAs will receive their leave allowances. He explained that more than 300 local government workers were discovered to have been parading fake certificates, 3000 staff of the LGA were absent at the biometric exercise, while over 130 ghost workers were found to have been earning salaries based
Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu (left); his deput, Sir Ude Oko Chukwu (centre); and the Senator representing Abia North, Mao Ohuabunwa at the burial of the late Abia State PDP treasurer, Chief Steve Omeoga, at his hometown, Ikpa Mgbelu Otampa, Isuikwuato Local Government Area of state at the weekend
Monarch prefers entrepreneurial skills to vehicles, tricycles empowerment by politicians ÏÏÏ
The Chairman, Umuahia South Council of Traditional Rulers, HRM Eze Godfrey Onwuka, has insisted that gaining entrepreneurial skill is far much better than empowering youths with vehicles, tricycles or bikes. In a chat with newsmen in Umuahia, Eze Onwuka, who advised politicians to have a rethink and rebrand the old system of empowerment whereby they give out buses, cars, tricycles to youths and the unemployed in the name of empowerment in the guise to reduce social vices and unemployment in the society, said a youth who is educationally empowered or exposed to one skill or the other remains at a reasonable advantage than those empowered with vehicles. He argued that some of those unemployed youths who were given cars as a source of empowerment hardly maintain, let along sustaining it and thinking of employing another. He said a person that acquired skill has been packaged for selfsustaining and in the due course will employ one or two persons, thereby reducing the number of the unemployed in the community.
He said: “They should impart knowledge on them, not empowering them with bikes and cars. Impartation of knowledge changes human perception of life. Engaging them in skill acquisition is better instead of giving out bikes and cash as empowerment. I discourage such things”. Eze Onwuka thanked God who brought his community peacefully to the year 2017, advising his subjects to do better in the New Year. “Those things that are bad like gangsterism, cultism, drug abuse, etc., should be dropped. They should look up to Christ in 2017. In the area of development, we can’t rely so much on government. There are things we need to do on our own as a community, as a people of like minds and cultural background. We should try and do those things on our own, then allow things like roads to the government. We should be able to get individuals who can sink boreholes for our community. As a community, we should be able to repair our schools, those ones that government cannot do. So I call upon my people to move a step or two in 2017,” the monarch said. On the argument that unem-
ployment attributes to about 95 percent of social vices in the community, the Royal father said: “I don’t agree in totality. Unemployment plays a role in social vices associated with some youths in the community but then you discover that there are youths also who are not employed, yet you don’t find them into all these habits. So you cannot say it is unemployment in totality”. Eze Onwuka, who called on the government to lay a good preparatory ground for children, passionately appealed to the state governments to pay teachers and give them other incentives that will motivate them. The Towe I of Umutowe Autonomous Community, who commended President Buhari’s stand on local government elections, called for a fourth tier government to do more to development to the grassroots. He said: “It will make development move down to the grassroots level. Traditional rulers know more of their people, their problems and other issues that needed urgent/adequate attention unlike those at the local government who are mainly politicians”.
on the bio-metric exercise embarked upon by the state government in the recent past. He assured that the Paris club funds have been moved to the already existing banks for onward payment of salaries and pensions, stating that Gov. Ikpeazu does not toy with the welfare of Abia workers and pensioners. Meanwhile, the Auditor General of the local government has been mandated to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the fake certificate, absence from biometric and ghost worker menace in the state with a view to bringing the culprits to book.
Foundation rescues farmers with N100m soft loans ÏÏÏ A
Non-Governmental Organisation, Adiaso Foundation, at the weekend, gave farmers in Abia State a lifeline of N100 million soft loans to enable them grow more food and fend for themselves. This was part of a comprehensive welfare package, which included free medical services, higher education scholarships and the provision of rural infrastructure by the NGO. Speaking at the unveiling ceremony for the welfare schemes during the opening of his mother’s maternity home which he revived and upgraded it into an ultra-modern specialist hospital with modern equipment at Obieketa Autonomous Community in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State in honour of his late mother, Lay Reader Mercy Adiaso, the Managing Director of Mayfair Project Limited, and the founder of the foundation, Chief Chamberlin Okechukwu Adiaso, said he had instituted several other foundations to cater to the need of the less privileged people in the society. Chief Adiaso said the reason why the ultra-modern hospital was built in honour of Mercy Adiaso was because “We don’t want any of her legacies to die. That is why we revived her maternity home and upgraded it into a specialist hospital with very modern equipment,” stating that he was also unveiling an education foundation which was giving out scholarships to indigent Abia State students. According to the philanthropist who also held a memorial service for his late mother, the
agricultural loan scheme was disbursed through the Nma Abia Co-operative Society, adding, “I am the initiator of Nma Abia. We gave out agricultural loans free of interest in 2016. There are so many young men and women who are loitering in the streets because they have no one who can give them even the sum of N20, 000 to support their education. We have set up an educational scheme that cuts across the length and breadth of Abia State.” Chief Adiaso said that Nigeria needed leaders and not rulers, lamenting that the society was dominated by rulers who would rather be served than serve others, He said: “When you lead people, you don’t expect to gain anything for yourself but you work to touch the lives of as many people as possible. “Leadership is all about living by example and doing things that will add value to the well-being of less privileged people. Apart from giving out agricultural loans and scholarships, I have also been engaged in upgrading infrastructure in the rural communities. I started grading roads in my local government area and beyond to help open up the rural areas and create access to the villages”. Speaking on the occasion, the Director General, Think Nigeria First Initiative (TNFI), Alhaji Abubakar Tsanni, commended the achievements of Chief Adiaso, while advising members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ukwa Ngwa Local Government Area to imbibe the change mantra of President Muhammadu Buhari by electing leaders and not corrupt rulers.