The rally ground of the U.J Esuene Stadium in Calabar, the state capital, was thrown into silence as workers who had come in anticipation of the usual May Day speech by state executives received the news with surprise.
The gesture is coming at a time when over 26 state governors have openly expressed their inability to pay salaries to the state civil servants running into months.
Even before the gesture, Governor Ayade has become one of the standout state chief executives as he has paid salaries between the 13th and 20th day of each since assumption of office, last May.
Ayade told the workers, who named him ‘Best Labour-Friendly Governor in Nigeria,’ that his administration ‘has a duty to give workers in the state a sense of dignity.’
Other packages the governor announced were the donation of a new Toyota Coaster-branded bus to the labour group, release of funds for the construction of the proposed Labour House as well as the appointment of a labour representative into the state executive council.
Earlier, chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade John Ushie, had thrown his weight behind the proposed 260km superhighway as well as other projects aimed at repositioning the economy of the state.
