Rivers State civil servants are sure not happy with the experience they are subjected to by the state executive, as their salaries are not sure to come by this December.
Even the month of November has ended without any assurance of salary, portending a bleak Christmas, despite no case of any quarters recording malpractices in the civil service system.
Our news desk, owing to the strange nature of the news, knowing the love of the governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi for the Civil Servants, went to town to ascertain the possible cause of this treatment.
Those who spoke with our correspondent, who would not want their names in print, said the governor is furious with the civil servants, noting that the governor discovered that the civil service system in the state is having multiple ghost names in it, making the state to lost millions of naira to the so-called ghost workers.
According to the unhappy civil servants, the governor in annoyance has withheld the November salary to checkmate the ghost workers’ trick of siphoning the state coffers.
As it is, no civil servant is sure of salary for the month of November, even as December has started counting its days to Christmas.
The sad looking and worried civil servants further said, the way it is going Rivers state civil servant may as well not receive their December salaries, if the governor makes good his threat.
Meanwhile, the state government has opened Christmas discount market to bring down prices of commodities for the common man to chop for Christmas.
Many civil servants are lamenting that without their salaries being paid to them, how could they ever visit such a discount market to chop for the Christmas, as it takes salary to shop for the Christmas market, begging the state executive to have a rethink as to save them from untold suffering.
Some stated that their children’s school fees are now hanging as the November salary is not being paid and that life is very difficult for them and their families.
One angry civil servant who spoke with our correspondent under anonymity, retorted that if the governor meant well for the state civil servants, what he ought to do in moments like this is to seek for the opinion of elder statesmen of the state, on the way forward about the issue and not to punish innocent civil services of the state.
In silence, the state civil servants are crying and some have turned prayer warriors to affect the mind of the governor to remember their November and December salaries, even if he is not going to pay them Christmas bonuses as he as earlier stated before last year.
In confidence, a senior civil servant who confided with The Newswriter, said, “The governor knows what he is doing. If he is sincere to checkmate the ghost worker names in the civil service system, why not cease the salaries of the permanent secretaries in each ministry for at least one to two months and see if ghost workers will still exist in the system. this he has refused to do. Why is he punishing innocent common civil servants?”
As at the time of filing in this report, the governor has not made any definite statement concerning November salary, even as December enters its third week.
This indicates that Rivers State civil servants may celebrate Christmas without their November and December salaries.
A journey to the Rivers State secretariat met the Rivers state engine room of power look paralyzed as all civil servants wore sad faces, courtesy of their November salary being owed by the state government.
This moment of sadness has also brought the entire Rivers State civil servants to form a prayer warrior groups to seek divine intervention in their case over the governor’s refusal to pay their salaries as at when due.###
Allanso Jonathan Allanso
