There was wild jubilation in Abia State as the State Government announced that it would henceforth utilize electronic payment platforms for the payment of salaries and other entitlements of civil servants in the State.

The government said this was with a view to ensuring the that salaries and entitlements of civil servants and subventions to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in the State were seamlessly disbursed, stressing that this will reduce incidences of manipulation, insertion of figures, falsification and salary leakages.

The State Commissioner for Finance, Dr Aham Uko, who announced this today, also gave assurance that issues of outstanding salaries and pensions would be tackled by his Ministry in compliance with Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s directive of prompt payment of worker’s salaries.

“We intend to upload (salaries) electronically. From next month, there will be an auto- pay system. That way, salary payment will be seamless.

“We are going to utilize the salary payment platform to pay civil servants to reduce incidences of manipulation, insertion of figures, all forms of falsifications and grafts will be reduced pending when we formally conduct a comprehensive enumeration. We think by the exercise, we will still reduce some leakages.”

In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Onyebuchi Ememanka, the Finance Commissioner disclosed that out of the 74 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), 60 have received their salaries for the month of October while the remaining 14 would receive theirs before the close of work on Monday.

He equally disclosed that the State Government has disbanded all salary committees including other firms managing salary payment as a result of incessant complaints of salary deduction by civil servants.

According to the Commissioner, “There won’t be any form of deductions whatsoever from anybody’s salaries and we are doing it straight from the parameters provided by the civil service commission as relates to salary payment”.