From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Provost of Abia State College of Education (Technical), Arochukwu (ASCETA), Philip Nto, said Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has promised to off set the salary arrears of workers of the institution before leaving office on May 29.
Nto, who relayed the governor’s promise in his office during a chat with newsmen, said already, the governor had cleared some months of the worker’s salary said to be before now, about 30 months.
The provost disclosed the institution’s monthly wage bill is N50 million, adding that the governor released two months of the workers’ salary last December which made them to celebrate the Christmas without much financial stress.
“We are not saying the workers are not being owed just like in some other institutions, but the truth remains that Governor Ikpeazu is making efforts to off-set the backlog of the salary owed workers,” he said.
On the recent sacking of the College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) chairman, ASCETA chapter, Kelvin Egesi, which made COEASU national body to react, calling for Ikpeazu’s intervention, the provost said management took the decision because Egesi was redundant and surplus to requirement.
The provost equally accused the institution’s COEASU chairman of engaging in partisan politics both within and outside the instruction’s campus.
“When we get COEASU’s letter, we will reply them. Management did not sack Egesi because according to contrary held view, he was agitating for payment of workers’ salary, no, but because he was redundant.
“Again, contrary to laid down rules guiding workers of the institution, he was engaged in partisan politics, at times bringing the institution’s name into ridicule.”
Enumerating his achievements over the years, Nto, whose second tenure as provost would end in few months time, said he attracted 15 building projects from TeTFund.
“We were able to attract TeTFund projects because we were able to follow their guidelines and built much confidence,” he said.
Nto, who disclosed the institution stopped awarding degrees in tandem with the Federal Government’s policy, regretted that low enrolment has remained its major challenge.
He, however, said with the conversion of the institution to a university of education by the Ikpeazu administration, and the envisaged passing of the bill to that effect into law, the problem of low enrolment will be over.