By Festus Ahon

ASABA—DELTA State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, yesterday said thae state government has released money for the payment of pensioners’ benefits.

Okowa who was speaking when the executive of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, Delta State chapter led by Mr Titus Okotie paid him a courtesy visit, said the payment wound be done on monthly basis.

He enjoined  stakeholders to join hands with his administration to fish out names of ghost and absconded civil servants in the state, frowning at a situation where  people receive salaries for work not done.

pensioners protesting

He said; “Of recent, the Post Primary Education Chairman in his recent visit to some schools in Warri and Ughelli metropolis, discovered names of over 140 teachers who have absconded but, still receives salaries, some for up to two years. We need the cooperation of everybody to fish out these ghost and absconded workers. If you know that they are ghost teachers in your school, as a Principal or a teacher, you need to bring it to our attention as they are increasing the workload of other teachers and still collecting salaries for work not done.”

“If only those who work are being paid, there will be more money to pay workers and do other things; someone who has absconded should not be receiving salaries and we have discovered that there are some persons who are outside the country but, are receiving salaries, we have also, discovered names of some dead civil servants that are still on our payroll, that should not be and we seek the cooperation of everybody for us to get it right.”

On the allegations that teachers were being downgraded, Okowa said that it was discovered that some graduates applied for civil service jobs as clerical assistants and within less than two years of their employment, they tender their degree certificates and were recognized as such without following due process.

“There are principles people were engaged in the civil service and we found out that those principles were breached, if you are employed as a clerical officer and you have a certificate as a graduate, you should be ready to progress as a clerical officer, not that after two years, you want to be recognized and paid as a graduate without following due process; we are carrying out biometric exercise to ensure that things are streamlined in the civil service bearing in mind that we are to serve all Deltans,” he said.

Emphasizing that his administration would employ workers, especially, teachers when the number of teachers and the need to employ have been ascertained, he  congratulated the new leadership of the NUT.

He assured that his administration would continue to meet with the needs of workers, especially that of teachers in the state.

Earlier, Comrade Okotie thanked the Governor for using his good offices to improve on the welfare of teachers, pledging the support of teachers to the delivery of the SMART agenda of the government.