By Anayo Okoli
GOVERNOR Theodore Orji of Abia State has assured civil servants in the state that he will pay them the approved N18,000 new minimum wage.

He also noted that the welfare of workers in the state remained his priority.

The governor said it was the love he had for civil servants that prompted him to promote all the civil servants in the state to the next grade level when he assumed office as the governor of the state in 2007.

A statement issued by the governor’s Adviser on Electronic Media; Mr. Ugochukwu Emezue, said the governor noted that although the allocation to the state from the Federation Account was not much, compared to other states in the South, his government was willing to go the extra mile to make its workers happy.

“Every month, our allocation from the Federal government is between N 2.8 billion and sometimes it is less, by the time you remove N 1.4 billion to pay salary, you are left with nothing. “Nevertheless, we will look inward; harness other avenues to ensure that we pay this new package,” the governor said.

He, however, called on the workers to reciprocate the gesture by rededicating themselves and putting in more efforts in the service of the state in order to achieve more in terms of productivity.