Akwa Ibom State Government denies owing workers’ salaries; Insists that protest was sponsored

The Akwa Ibom State government has said that the protest by “a tiny group of obviously sponsored set of local government workers and pensioners” on Monday, July 11, 2016 has political coloration, stressing that the state government “does not owe salary of workers.”
A statement by Ekerete Udoh, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Udom Emmanuel, which noted that the 2015 elections are over and that the Governor was now concerned with delivering dividends of democracy to the people of the state, said that “we want to state here categorically that Akwa Ibom State Government does not owe workers salary and has intervened regularly in the payment of pensions and gratuities to the local government pensioners.”
According to the statement, “Shortly after Governor Udom Emmanuel assumed office May 29, 2015, he paid a ten-year backlog of pensions and gratuities to both the teachers and local government employees. Touched by the gesture and kind-heartedness of the governor, the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and the Teachers Union had separately written letters of appreciation to Governor Udom Emmanuel, thanking him for his magnanimity.
“This gesture by the governor was done, not minding the fact that the payment of pensions and gratuities to local government workers and teachers is solely the responsibility of local government councils.
“Just last Friday,- July 8, 2016 Governor Emmanuel again had intervened by making funds available to pay for one month of pensions to the local government workers. It must be stated here, again that it is not the responsibility of the state governor to pay salaries and pensions of local government employees. The payment of salaries and gratuities to teachers and local government employees is the sole responsibility of the local government councils.
“We wish to reiterate here that the 2015 elections is a settled affair and Governor Udom Emmanuel has been working hard to meet the obligations of the people in spite of the paucity of funds. He has gone the extra mile to ensure those workers’ salaries and emoluments are paid on time. Akwa Ibom it bears repeating is one of the states in the country where workers are not owed salaries.”
The statement concluded that “Governor Udom Emmanuel will not be detracted from the task of providing superior performance and bringing home the beacon to the people of the state, for which he was massively elected to do, on April 11, 2015.”