Abia sacked non-indigenes over minimum wage ' Orji

Abia State Governor Theodore Orji on Sunday said his administration sacked non-indigenes from the states civil service because of pressure of implementing the minimum wage.Orji, who was at the 5th Abia Think Tank Annual Forum Lecture in Lagos, said if the administration had not taken the decision, the state would have been in a financial mess.According to him, the government spends N1.8bn out of the N3.2bn income per month on salaries alone. He wondered how he could take care of capital projects.The governor said, From the Federation Account, the highest we receive is N3.2bn. The figures are there every month. The Internally-Generated Revenue I met was N150m, but we are now going to N400m.When we use N1.8bn to pay salaries, how much remains' And you know how much it takes to tar a kilometre of road. At the end of the month, you are left with virtually nothing to run government.Orji added, And this brings us to this indigenisation. I did not propose minimum wage. It was proposed and all the states bought into it to pay N18,000. Everybody agreed. You cant go there and say you will not pay; if you come home, the workers will stone you to death.When I came back, I called my people to give me an idea on what to do.They said we should try to send some people away so that we can manage and pay this money.That was how it started. You know it was a very difficult decision to take. I think you people should be praising me for taking that decision. I did it to ensure that my people are happy. My primary assignment is Abia State before any other state.The President, Abia Think Tank, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, said the state was the centre of commerce in the South-East.Meanwhile, Eze Robert Ndukwe, the traditional ruler of Umu Ihi Autonomous Community in Ihite Uboma Local Government Area of Imo, has criticised the disengagement of non-indigenes in Abia civil service by the state government.Ndukwe made his reservations known while speaking in Umuahia during a reception organised by Umu Ihi Towns Union, Umuahia branch in honour of the Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Chief Ben Uwajumogu.The monarch said it was unnecessary for Orji to disengage from Abia civil service his kinsmen from the South-East.
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