The Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers State led by Chief Felix
Obuah has declared that it can no longer ignore the cries and
lamentations of hundreds of thousands of civil servants in the state
whose salaries have been purportedly deducted by the Rotimi Amaechi
administration every month.
In a statement on Tuesday, issued and signed by Jerry Needam, Special
Adviser on Media to Obuah, the state PDP said it had observed that
civil servants in the state were going through “untold hardship
inflicted on these helpless government workers, using the baseless state
social services law as a cover”.
The state PDP accused Governor Amaechi of using the arbitrary salary
deductions to build up his political war chest towards his highly
speculated 2015 Vice Presidential ambition.
The party also described as unfair, Gov. Amaechi’s insensitivity and non-challant attitude to the cries of the workers.
While describing the state government’s policy as irrational, the state PDP referred to the deductions as disproportionate.
“The irrational application of the policy without recourse to rank
and amount earned by the workers, as in most cases, junior workers on
grade level one to seven are tasked more as evidenced in the September
deductions that have set some of the workers against the paying banks.
“The party wonders why the deduction if properly and purposefully
articulated will continue to fluctuate month after month, and petitions
by the aggrieved persons for explanations on the conflicting deductions
not given by neither the finance ministry nor the paying bank.
“How can a government that continues to pride itself as having enough
resources and is not broke not be kind or sympathetic enough to pay its
staff what is due them but rather revels in seeing them cry and
complain at the end of each month? Is this what democracy or being well
to do is all about?” the party asked rhetorically.
Meanwhile, the party urged the relevant authorities in Rivers State
and Gov. Amaechi to halt the salary deductions from its workers’
salaries and adviced that “the state initiate the process of refunding
those who have already been shortchanged by the unpopular, irresponsible
and inhuman policy”.
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