Abia governor slashes own salary, allowances by 50%

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has an- nounced personal sac- rifice to place himself on half salary and cut his travelling al- lowances by 50 percent until the salaries and allowances owed workers are cleared.

Governor Ikpeazu made the disclosure at the Government House, Umuahia, during the swearing-in of the state new Head of Service (HOS) Vivian Uma.

He said he was pained by the development and promised to do everything humanly possible to ensure that salaries and al- lowances of workers in the state were systematically cleared.

He called on other appointees who can, to follow his example and stressed that there was need to cut down on the cost of governance.

The governor congratulated the new Head of Service on his appointment which he de- scribed as a milestone, pointing out that the appointment is part of his government’s desire to reinvigorate the civil service.

He said he expects the Abia civil service to be more proactive for the challenges ahead.

He charged the new head of service to look for innovative ways of doing things, especially in terms of shoring up the inter- nally generated revenue (IGR) of the state.

In his acceptance speech, the new head of service, Uma, promised to bring positive trans- formation to the civil service as discipline and sound ethical conduct will be enthroned in the service for greater service delivery.

He thanked the governor for appointing him, promising to be loyal and supportive of his administration.

UDOKA AGWU, Umuahia