The Nigeria Civil Service Union ( NCSU), Rivers State Council, has appealed to the Governor of the State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara to implement without further delay the N35,000 salary award approved by the Federal Government for all workers in the country to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy, as well as pay Christmas bonus to civil servants in the State.
It would be recalled that since the administration of Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, civil servants in the State had not been paid Christmas bonus.
The Rivers State Chairman of NCSU, Comrade Chukwuka Richman Osumah, who made the appeal while speaking with newsmen in Port Harcourt urged Governor Fubara to pay this month the approved N35,000 salary award and Christmas bonus to the civil servants to enable them celebrate seamlessly the Christmas festivities with their counterparts across the country.
According to him, civil servants in the State had for several years been denied Christmas bonus by successive administrations that never had the interest of the people at heart.
He, however, noted that the Governor Fubara administration would have before now implemented the N35, 000 salary award for the workers if not for the temporary setback caused by the ill-fated impeachment saga in the State.
Nonetheless, Osumah said the Rivers State Government ought to have started implementing the salary award since September when it was approved, adding that further delay of the implementation would entail unnecessary accumulation of the arrears.
He expressed optimism that Governor Fubara would do the needful to make civil servants in the State comfortable and happy again, particularly during the forthcoming Christmas festivities, since he was himself a civil servant before his election to the exalted position of Governor of the State.
The labour leader used the opportunity to reaffirm the unflinching support of the workers to the present administration, going by its giant development strides within a short period of time, and recalled that the civil servants had within the past eight years of the previous administration passed through excruciating pains, a situation he said Governor Fubara would remedy and once again put smiles on the faces of the workers.
While wishing the Governor well on the forthcoming Christmas and New Year celebrations, Osumah called on the workers to continue to rally round the present administration as well as improve on their productivity through a greater sense of dedication and commitment to their duties.
He also commended Governor Fubara for the recent move of his administration to build 20,000 low cost houses and a befitting motor spare parts market in Port Harcourt, describing the initiative as a welcome development that would equally create job opportunities for the teeming youths of the State.
He said the union is particularly grateful to the Governor for the recent promotion of the workers who were for over 10 years stagnated, saying it is heart-warming that the present administration was the one that implemented the promotion as well as paid the accruing arrears to some of the workers.
Osumah equally expressed delight that the Port Harcourt Ring Road project initiated by the present administration is on course, as houses have already been demolished on some routes to pave way for the full take-off of the project, and applauded Governor Fubara for the bold initiative.
He, however, stressed the need for the administration to revive the payment of housing and car loans to civil servants in the State, a policy he said was reinforced by the Peter Odili administration with over N200million set aside for that purpose.
