Chidi Nwosu, the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Abia, has hailed Federal Government’s condition set for states to qualify for the second tranche of the Paris Club refund.

Nwosu said on Wednesday while briefing newsmen in Umuahia, that the measure as laudable.

He that the Abia experience showed that some states did not judiciously administer previous federal government’s largesse.

He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for displaying rare magnanimity by releasing bailout and first tranche of Paris Club refund to states to enable them offset salary arrears.

He, however, expressed concern that Abia government did not deploy the intervention fund to pay outstanding salaries and pension.

According to him, “there is no evidence that Abia government judiciously utilised the first tranche of the Paris Club refund.

“There is no justifiable reason to give another tranche of the Paris Club refund to the state,” he said.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that federal government had said that states that still owed workers’ salaries would not receive the second tranche of the refund.

Nwosu blamed the underperformance by the present administration in the state on poor management of resources and described government’s excuse of paucity of funds as lame and unconvincing.

Presenting a release, entitled “Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu’s three-and-half years in retrospect, part one,” he accused the governor of having failed to deliver on his promise to pay salaries on 25th day of every month.

He said, “The governor says so much and does next to nothing. He does not work his talk.”

He said that government’s failure to pay salaries as and when due portrayed Ikpeazu’s administration as one that hated teachers and pensioners.

He described teachers and pensioners as critical and significant key players in the develoment of the state.

Nwosu regretted that while pensioners were owed gratuities and arrears of pensions, secondary school teachers were owed six months arrears of salaries.

“The narrative about teachers and pensioners must change and the time is 2019,” he said.

The party chairman said that the party “shall periodically evaluate the performance of Ikpeazus administration sectorally in the face of unabated sufferings of Abia people.”

He spoke on the party’s preparations for its primaries, saying that two governorship aspirants as well as National and State House of Assembly aspirants had purchased forms for the primaries.

He said that there would be no automatic ticket for any aspirant, adding that the party would adopt direct primaries for members to elect candidates for 2019 polls. (NAN)

– Sept. 12, 2018 @ 19:19 GMT |