- Accuse Accountant General, Terrence Of Worsening Their Plight
Civil servants and pensioners in Imo State and their counterparts in the local government system have expressed dismay over the way they are being treated with levity by the state government despite their struggles, efforts and sacrifices as the engine room of the government.
Some of them who spoke to newsmen during the Workers’ Day celebration yesterday, said that they have been frustrated for a very long time by the Accountant General of the state Linus Okafor and the Director General of Imo Data Center, Terrence Onyejiaku, who they said have become thorns in their flesh.
One of them who was visibly agitated said, “both men seem to have vowed to ensure that we die instalmentally as a result of hunger, lack and deprivation arising from the non-payment of our salaries, if not, how does one explain the deliberate denial of our salaries for no just cause?
For instance about 1,000 of us were owed several months arrears of salary and pensions as the case may be. But after several complaints and petitions about 500 of us were paid while over 400 are still owed. They have used the selective payment to destabilize our collective resolve and at the same time fault our report, because while some are saying that they are being owed those who have been paid will counter it because they have been paid.
The annoying part of it is that the Accountant General, Okafor, who pretends to be saving money for the government is in the actual sense, benefiting from the non-payment of civil servants and pensioners. He is very unaccessible. He pretends not to know the predicament of workers in the state and at the same time neither listens nor proffers solutions to issues that require his attention”.
He further said, “most times that we attempted to go on strike, we were dissuaded by the leadership of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) who assured us that the government will do something. But till date, nothing tangible has been done. Rather, things are getting worse by the day. The so-called Terrence who sees himself as Lord has become a hydra-headed monster that has no conscience”.
When asked if civil servants in the state are also facing similar problems, the source said, they are more affected as both the office of the Accountant General and that of the Data Management Center have practically nothing to offer. The moment you tell them that you came in connection with issues about either your pension or salary, they will start dribbling you from one office to the other. The Accountant General’s office will tell you to go to Terrence’s office because he is in charge. If you go to Terrence’s office, they will tell you that he is not on seat
Besides, the Accountant General knows practically nothing about the civil service. It is obvious that as a former banker, all he knows and is concerned about is how to check debit and credit. If not for nepotism, he should have nothing to do with the office he occupies”.
Another source who does not want his name mentioned said, “the Governor sincerely wants to clear the arrears of salaries and pensioners, but the Accountant General and Terrence who are his kinsmen are the stumbling blocks. They are the architects of the problems that civil servants and pensioners in the state are having, thereby demarketing the Governor and his administration.
