Governor Ben Ayade, of Cross River state, who has paid the December salaries of civil servants in the state on the first day of the month, has come under heavy criticism by the workers, who claim the move will cause untold hardship to them.
It was learnt that civil servants in Cross River State had received their December salary on the 1st of December, 2016, as against the 25th of the month when it is usually paid.
The workers complained about the gesture, stating that the early payment will make the Yuletide month difficult for them as most of them will have exhausted their salaries before Christmas.
The aggrieved workers, who received a similar payment in May, 2016, in commemoration of the Worker’s Day celebration, revealed that January was usually a tough month, and getting salaries in the middle of December will help sustain them for the early days of January.
According to a top civil servant with the Ministry of Environment, “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.
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.”
