Anambra State Government has denied recent allegations made by the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero, during an interview on AIT television and through an alleged letter of notice of industrial action.
According to a press statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Christian Aburime, Comrade Ajaero accused Governor Chukwuma Soludo of anti-worker policies and alleged incitement of other Nigerian state Governors against the payment of the proposed seventy thousand-naira minimum wage.
He further curiously issued one week ultimatum and strike notice over the purported failure to pay the 2019 National Minimum Wage of thirty-thousand-naira, unresolved contributory pension deductions, and the cessation of a twelve-thousand-naira special palliative allowance.
Anambra State Government, in the press statement, categorically debunked the allegations and highlighted the commendable strides Governor Soludo has made in improving the welfare and working conditions of Anambra workers since he assumed office in March, 2022.
It said at no time did Governor Soludo incite or influence other state Governors against paying the proposed minimum wage, and listed some of the Soludo administration’s labour-friendly policies and achievements over the past two years to include payment of pensions and gratuities, employment initiatives, including the five thousand teachers recruited in one fell swoop and another batch of three thousand teachers currently being employed.
Additionally, the statement noted that Governor Soludo abolished tuition fees in public schools, from primary to Junior Secondary School three, ensuring that education is accessible to all children in the state, thereby relieving civil servants of parental financial burdens.
The statement listed healthcare improvements by recruiting of one thousand medical personnel, including doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals, saying that the move has greatly improved the healthcare services available to Anambra civil servants.
Others include more palliative measures, prompt salary payments, career progression, small business support through ASBA, healthcare accessibility through the instrumentality of ASHIA, free ante-natal, solar installation, infrastructural development, water scheme, setting up of Technical Committee to review the operations of Ndiolu Microfinance Bank.
The state government however said despite the foregoing achievements, it remains committed to addressing all outstanding issues raised by the NLC.
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