In a recent development, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State has vehemently accused the Labour Party (LP) government, led by Governor Alex Otti, of disseminating misleading information to tarnish the image of the previous PDP administration headed by Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu.
This reaction comes in response to a statement attributed to Kazie Uko, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Otti, claiming that the state government has initiated the payment of eight years’ worth of salary arrears owed to judicial workers in the state.
Elder Abraham Amah, the Abia State vice chairman and acting publicity secretary of the PDP, dismissed Uko’s statement as “despicable and mischievous,” asserting that judicial workers in the state were not in arrears. Amah stated, “The issue of eight years of salary arrears is nothing but the wicked construction of Otti’s administration to continue to ride on the back of lies and propaganda to cover up its incompetence in governance.”
Furthermore, the PDP highlighted that the Judiciary Workers’ Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) had engaged in discussions with state governments nationwide in 2015, well before Ikpeazu assumed the governorship in Abia State. The party claimed that the allegation of eight years’ salary arrears was a deliberate attempt to embarrass the state.
The PDP asserted its vindication by Mrs. Victoria Okey-Nwokeukwu, the Chief Registrar of Abia State High Court, who refuted the claim that judges and judicial workers in the state were owed salaries.
The party went on to criticize the Otti-led administration for allegedly building its image on “lies and propaganda” to deflect attention from its perceived governance failures. The PDP urged the people of Abia to demand an explanation from the Otti-led government regarding the purported expenditure of N552 million on the Ministry of Information and propaganda between July and September 2023.