Workers’ Welfare Still My Priority, Says Umahi

The Ebonyi State Governor, Mr. David Umahi, yesterday reassured workers in the state that his administration was still committed to their welfare, stressing that he would fulfil all his promises made to them during his election.

The governor who stated this during the Workers Day celebration in Abakaliki, also assured the workers that the state government would look into some of the concerns raised by the Organised Labour in the state.

Umahi, who was represented by his deputy, Dr kelechi Igwe, urged the workers not to lose faith in the government as their welfare still remained a priority.

Earlier, the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ikechukwu Nwafor, who read the NLC and Trade Union Congress Joint address, expressed dismay that Umahi was not doing anything to improve their welfare despite the overwhelming support he enjoyed from them in realiSing his governorship ambition.

With the theme, “The Working Class and Quest for Socio-Economic Revival”, the Organised Labour noted that the theme was apt as they needed urgent socio-economic revival from the state government.

“Your Excellency, recall that the with the overwhelming support of the Civil/Public Servants of Ebonyi, you were promoted from Deputy Governor to Executive Governor in May 2015. Since then, we have been looking forward to our members’ deserved promotions which fell due in January,2015 but to no avail,” Nwafor said.

They workers therefore demanded the immediate release of the 2015 promotion results and urged that sincere efforts should commence for the 2016 promotion exercise.

They described as unacceptable the situation where Chairman and the members of state Civil Service Commission seem not to know their responsibility and functions and expectations of workers and maintained that any top public servant who sleeps on his or her duties shall be opposed with an organised protest.

They accused the governor of sacking the workers of the defunct Ebonyi State Environment Protection Agency barely 13 days after in a state-wide broadcast assuring that workers will not be disengaged.

The workers called on the governor to call back the sacked workers of the defunct Ebonyi State Environment Protection Agency and reinstate them into state workforce.