The Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Benue South Senatorial District, Comrade Daniel Onjeh, has commended Governor Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia for fulfilling his promise to pay the salaries of the state’s civil servants.
By paying these salaries and committing to paying them as at when due as well as clearing the backlog of arrears inherited from his predecessor, Governor Alia was being true to his commitment to doing so in the spirit of his contract with the state’s electorates, Onjeh said. Com. Onjeh noted that this commitment was one of the key items in Fr. Alia’s manifesto for the 2023 Governorship election.
Com. Onjeh stated that Governor Alia had always held the belief that a labourer deserves his wages and that paying the salaries of workers barely a month after he assumed office in May 2023, is a practical demonstration of this. This belief, Onjeh noted, is predicated on the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ contained in the following passage of the scripture: ‘When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.”’ (Matthew 20:8).
This payment, Onjeh observed, is a welcomed relief to the state’s Civil Servants who have not been paid their dues for the past seven months. He applauded the Governor for being alive to the plight of the state Government’s workers and pensioners. In light of this, Onjeh enjoined the Benue people to trust the governor and support the APC administration. He also pointed out that this was a sign of greater things to come to the great people of Benue State.
Com. Onjeh, a former Chairman of the Governing Board of PRODA, Enugu, also lauded the governor for doing what successive governors before him had failed or refused to do.
Furthermore, Com. Onjeh posited that by retaining the Anti-Grazing Law passed by his predecessor, and by taking quality decisions that enhanced the security and welfare of the people, Governor Alia had ushered in an era of peace and prosperity to Benue State.
He, therefore, called on all the State’s residents to work assiduously to maintain, promote, and nurture this peace. He urged them to cooperate with the government in its efforts to fast-track the State’s socio-economic development.
Com. Onjeh further stated that the prompt payment of staff salaries and the promise of unfailing regular payment of the same in a State where the Government is the largest employer is inexorably tied to security. He explained that Civil Servants were the backbone, soul, and engine room of Government and that denying them their dues amounted to a deliberate attempt to cripple the Government, the State, and Society.
He averred that some unpaid and impoverished Civil Servants might resort to crime or corrupt practices to fend for their families and dependents, in the area of school fees, food, healthcare, rent, commute, etc. He added that others will lose confidence in the Government and, disillusioned, fail to give the State its best services.
He stated that this state of affairs will doubtless endanger the psyche of the young and kill the patriotism of many. Without patriotism and the conviction that one has a duty to serve his/her nation, many who get the opportunity to hold public office will view it as a chance to plunder public coffers.
Furthermore, Com. Onjeh commended Governor Alia for fulfilling his primary responsibility of ensuring the security and welfare of his citizens. He said that by paying salaries as at when due and regularly, Governor Alia was not only motivating Civil Servants to perform better, but also boosting the economy of the state and improving the living standards of the people.
In conclusion, he urged the Governor to continue on this path of good governance and accountability and assured him that, by so doing, he will have the unalloyed support of residents, and the loyalty of the APC, in the state.
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