The Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers State led by Chief Felix Obuah has declared that it can no longer ignore the cries and lamentations of hundreds of thousands of civil servants in the state whose salaries have been purportedly deducted by the Rotimi Amaechi administration every month.


In a statement on Tuesday, issued and signed by Jerry Needam, Special Adviser on Media to Obuah, the state PDP said it had observed that civil servants in the state were going through “untold hardship inflicted on these helpless government workers, using the baseless state social services law as a cover”.

The state PDP accused Governor Amaechi of using the arbitrary salary deductions to build up his political war chest towards his highly speculated 2015 Vice Presidential ambition.

The party also described as unfair, Gov. Amaechi’s insensitivity and non-challant attitude to the cries of the workers.

While describing the state government’s policy as irrational, the state PDP referred to the deductions as disproportionate.

“The irrational application of the policy without recourse to rank and amount earned by the workers, as in most cases, junior workers on grade level one to seven are tasked more as evidenced in the September deductions that have set some of the workers against the paying banks.

“The party wonders why the deduction if properly and purposefully articulated will continue to fluctuate month after month, and petitions by the aggrieved persons for explanations on the conflicting deductions not given by neither the finance ministry nor the paying bank.

“How can a government that continues to pride itself as having enough resources and is not broke not be kind or sympathetic enough to pay its staff what is due them but rather revels in seeing them cry and complain at the end of each month? Is this what democracy or being well to do is all about?” the party asked rhetorically.

Meanwhile, the party urged the relevant authorities in Rivers State and Gov. Amaechi to halt the salary deductions from its workers’ salaries and adviced that “the state initiate the process of refunding those who have already been shortchanged by the unpopular, irresponsible and inhuman policy”.
Source: Informtion Nigeria