The staff of the Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State on Tuesday morning took to the streets to protest the non-payment of their salaries.
They blocked two lanes of Bender road junction in Umuahia, claiming that they had not received their salaries for the past three months, which has lead to hunger and financial distress.
This is even as the State government has advised the LGA staff to approach their respective banks to access their money.
They also demand that the government should acknowledge that they are not fictitious employees.
In order to ensure that their demands are taken serious, the workers locked the main gate of the local government secretariat and insisted that a senior staff member of the State government address them.
They further said they were always ready to present themselves for biometric or physical verification to confirm that they were genuine workers.
The Umuahia North LGA workers denied evading the verification exercise and suggested that the State government take action against any treasurer or senior official who obstructed their payroll delivery to the government.
Despite the presence of police officers to calm the situation, the protest continued without resolution.
Reacting to the protest, Mr. Kazie Uko, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Alex Otti, clarified that the June salaries of the LGA staff had been deposited in their respective banks and urged them to resolve any issues they may have directly with their banks.
He emphasized that the protests may be directed at certain senior staff members of the local government rather than Governor Otti’s government.