Mixed reaction as Gov. Ben Ayade Pays December Salary

Mixed reaction as Gov. Ben Ayade Pays December Salary

Civil servants in Cross River State on Friday condemned the decision of the state governor, Ben Ayade, to pay their December salary on the first day of the month.

Our correspondent learned that some civil servants had on December 1 received alerts for the month’s salary, as against the 25th of every month.

It would be the second time that workers would be receiving salaries on the first day of the month as they had in May 2016 got a similar gesture from the governor in commemoration of the Workers’ Day celebration.

The aggrieved workers said the decision to pay their salaries in advance would later cause untold hardship as the Yuletide approaches.

A top civil servant in the Ministry of Environment, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “The state government’s decision to pay December salaries of some civil servants within the first three days of the month will make us suffer in due course.

“The government should have employed caution by delaying December salary payments to a later date. Our governor may want to score a political point with this payment, but I think that those of us receiving this money stand to lose fiscally when January comes.”

But one of the governor’s aides, who pleaded anonymity, said the workers should applaud the governor instead of complaining.

Cross River state officially goes on break from December 1 as the state prepares for a month-long carnival and other activities which makes the capital, Calabar, a choice destination for holiday seekers every year.

Some workers expressed delight at the early payment of salary ahead of the yuletide, especially as the state got zero allocation from the Federation Account this month.

The governor however urged the workers to be prudent on how they spend their salary, promising that he would be there for them in case they run into any financial difficulty before the end of January.

The source said, “People are so impossible to please. There are states in this country where salaries are not paid as and when due, but in Cross River State, our governor pays salaries and even pays ahead to cater for special occasions like the Workers’ Day and this Yuletide.

“Instead of applauding him, some people say he shouldn’t have paid. Nigerians are difficult to please.”