STILL ON EBONYI CIVIL SERVANTS

By Philip Nweze

The year 2018 opened on an optimistic note for civil servants in Ebonyi state. Unprecedented number of bank alerts which started in the twilight of 2017 continued unabated, after a bumper Christmas celebration which saw their earning index shoot up incredibly, as a result of catalogues of payments, ranging from arrears of leave allowance, outstanding promotion benefits and strings of mouth watering Christmas bonuses. Civil servants who queud up to enjoy this grand gesture will never forget 2017 in a hurry. Their salary accounts were punctuated with intermittent bank alerts which rained money till January 2 when the mother of all entitlements: 50% of their basic salary hit their accounts as new year palliative from the governor.

The governor became a national top scorer on the salary payment chart. And Ebonyi state became an oasis of respite for financialily strapped workers. suddenly, the fate of civil servants has taken a positive curve. The governor seems to have developed a well thought-out blueprint to douse possible government-labour skirmishes, through his mega acts of philanthropy. His life has been a life of service, a study in finding ways to help others.

The governor realizes that the civil service is one of the key levers for making the world a better place. He believes in the popular saying that a labourer deserves his wages, so salaries of civil servants first before any thing else. This has gone a long way to deepen his reputation as worker friendly governor par excellence. In governance too, he is a special breed.

The governor and his team deserves a great deal of credit for going to this great length to please civil servants. Devoting a slice of the state’s income to welfare of workers. This acts of kindness cannot go unnoticed in a world where the environment seems harsh and cold for an average civil servant in Nigeria.

This high value gifts to civil servants has ensured dat any likelihood to cause hardship was nipped in d bud. All over the state joy and happiness prevailed. January 2 brought sweet relief to anxious civil servants who have been pinning their hopes on the promises by the governor to cushion their Christmas and new year expenses.

That the arduous task of paying salaries that falls in his laps at a period where the ruling elite finds it difficult to face up to the financial challenges facing the nation, begs for pity than for envy, is no longer news. But Governor Umahi has surprisingly weathered the storm with admirable aplomb and panache. Never in the history of the state had workers smiled home to Christmas with so many bags of goodies.

Today, the celebratory of Ebonyi workers is one that is most irrepressible. The future is even pregnant with more goodies for the state’s workforce. Making workers happy is the underlying tenet of his administration’s policy thrust.