Obiano restates commitment to civil servants

CIVIL servants are the most visible representatives of the state and through them, the overall economic and social health of any state can be gauged for effective development, Governor Willie Obiano has said.

In his address at the 2015 Civil Service Day in Awka, Obiano restated his confidence and commitment to civil servants in the state, saying it was in view of this that he has made the civil service his administration’s priority.

I am happy that the theme of this year’s celebration is ‘The Role of Public Service in Women Empowerment, Innovation and Accessible Service Delivery,’ and it is in agreement with Nwanyi bu Ife: Realising the Values of the Nigerian Woman,” he noted. “The civil service is the cornerstone of my administration. That is why I have always made great efforts to uplift the welfare of workers.

In the past one year, my administration has demonstrated a great deal of sensitivity to the plight of workers in state. “A few weeks after I was sworn in, in relation to the difficulties workers were having in transporting themselves to work, we provided four buses to convey workers from Onitsha, Otuocha, Nnewi and Ekwulobia to and from Awka.

We also donated three buses to the NLC, NUC and JNC. “Similarly, less than one year, we increased workers’ salaries by 15 per cent. I also assured you that I would do more if our Internally Generated Revenue grows.

I plan to keep that promise. “Interestingly, we increased salaries at a time oil prices were crashing and governments were looking for bailouts.

In spite of the prevailing difficulties, we have kept our promise to always pay your salaries regularly. “We are also working on ensuring that promotion and conversion of some categories of workers are done in due time. We do all this because we know that you matter. We know that a government that does not place the people first is doomed.”