The governor claimed on Friday that his administration had paid all staff of the Abia State University their salaries for April and May.
Governor Alex Otti of Abia State and members of the Abia State University (ABSU) Chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have disagreed over the payment of salaries for civil servants in the state.
How it started
Mr Otti, while speaking on Friday during a monthly media chat in Umuahia, said his administration had been prioritising the welfare of workers in the state.
The governor claimed, as a result of the priority his administration placed on the workers' welfare, he regularly pays their salaries and pensions as at when due.
"As of today (Friday), every member of staff of Abia State University has received his or her salaries up to date. Anyone who has not received may be having issues with his or her bank," he claimed.
Mr Otti also promised that arrears of leave allowances would be paid.
"My understanding of leave allowances is that they are due when you go on leave. We don't have any problem paying people who are going on leave. If there are arrears that have not been paid, the state is going to deal with the new minimum wage and the leave allowances," he said.
ABSU ASUU kicks
But reacting, the ABSU chapter of the ASUU refuted the claims by the governor.
In a statement jointly signed by the ABSU-ASUU's Chairperson, Chidi Mbah and its Secretary, Victor Obisike, the union said contrary to Mr Otti's claims, only a "handful of staff" have received their April salary and "fewer have received their May salary."
"Very alarming are instances where the few staff who received their May salary did not receive their April salary in the same bank.
"Painfully, some of the staff who received either April or May salary had unexplained deductions ranging between N8,000 and N53,000 made on the paid one month salary," it said.
The union added that the majority of the staff of the ABSU and teaching staff of the Abia State University Teaching Hospital, whose salary accounts were domiciled with the university's microfinance bank, have not received any payments for either April or May.
It said the development had "caused significant financial strain, panic and uncertainty among the staff".
"With this staggered payment system, the unions in the university cannot ascertain the status of their check-off dues, which are usually deducted at the source of payment.
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"Furthermore, it is important to highlight that our 11 months outstanding salary arrears remain unpaid. Despite repeated assurances, not a single month of these arrears has been settled," the union stated.
'Stop politics'
The ABSU-ASUU urged government officials to stop politicising payment of its staff salaries given that their health, families' needs and other issues such as workers' productivity depend on them.
"It is imperative that the government acknowledges the financial hardships faced by the university staff and takes immediate action to ensure that all outstanding salaries, including the arrears, are paid promptly and in full," the union said.
It appealed to Governor Otti "to quickly look into this issue by calling the attention of the concerned officials so as not to truncate his good intentions for the state workforce".
