Soludo says the state revenue is not growing for the salary increment to be at par or more than the inflation rate which trends at above 20 percent which trends at above 20 per cent
By Ishaya Ibrahim
Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo has announced a 10 per cent salary increase for civil servants in the state, plus N15, 000 per person as a Christmas bonus.
A statement by Christian Aburime, Soludo’s chief press secretary, said the increment was announced during the celebration of the ‘2022 Public Service Day’ held yesterday, December 20 at the Anambra secretariat complex in Awka, the state capital.
The statement reads: “On the issue of Christmas rice, we reviewed how it’s done in the past and discovered that it is no longer tenable. I understand, in previous years, that the past government gave 25kg bags of rice to civil servants for Christmas,” he said.
“The state of Nigeria is bad. Everybody is complaining. Prices are rising very fast. I look at you and wonder how you cope. Today, a 50kg bag of rice costs over N40,000. That’s beyond the salary of a graduate in public service. Something is not right!
“What we will do instead, between today and tomorrow, we will, first of all, make sure that our pensioners are taken care of, to demonstrate good faith.
“I wish we could do much more but today, you will receive an alert of N15,000 as a Christmas bonus.
“The income is not increasing; government revenue is not increasing. We cannot print money. I understand what you feel and wish that our revenue will go up so we can multiply what comes to you in proportion to Nigeria’s inflation.”
The event also featured the presentation of certificates of recognition to 33 workers “for their exemplary services and dedication”.