…Pays Promotion Arrears to LG workers.
Esio Francis/Roseline Etukudo
In what could be described as a moment of shock and disbelief to many Local Government workers, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, His Excellency Pastor Umo Eno, has again turned the tide with the recent payment of 2020 promotion arrears to Local Government workers in the State.
The promotion arrears paid to LG workers on Thursday, 15th May, 2025, is a demonstration of Governor Umo Eno’s commitment to better workers’ welfare.
Many staffers who received the unanticipated credit alert on their phones could not conceal their confusion, which was further heightened by the fact that salaries were paid in the penultimate week.
For Mrs Etukudo, a staff member of Ibiono Ibom Local Government Council, “on receiving the alert, I thought I was wrongly paid April’s salary again. I put a call through to my Director of Finance to inform him of the double payment, only for him to inform me that it is 2020 promotion arrears.”
Other beneficiaries expressed the same shock and described it as unexpected, and thanked Pastor Umo Eno for the gesture.
When contacted for comments, the Akwa Ibom State President of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comr. Anestina Iweh said the payment of promotion arrears to Local Government workers was a welcome development, after almost two decades of neglect by previous Administrations.
The NULGE boss while commending the Governor for the payment of the long forgotten promotion arrears to Local Government Workers and also the payment of severance allowances to past elected Local Government officials in the State, stated that the gesture was a further confirmation of Governor Eno’s pact to prioritizing and improving workers’ welfare under his administration.
The last time promotion arrears were paid to workers in the Unified Local Government Service was in 2008, before the advent of the Sky Bank salary consultant. Workers employed from 2007 to date have never received promotion arrears, she stated.
Recall that the Governor had cleared the backlog of debts inherited from the previous administration, including payments of leave grants, salary arrears, and payment of gratuity to Local Government Retirees.
With the Payment of the 2020 Promotion Arrears, Local Government Workers who have been promoted without arrears are hoping that His Excellency, Pastor Umo Eno, will extend the gesture to accommodate 2021 to 2024 promotion arrears.
Meanwhile, Governor Eno, who recently received the THISDAY Award 2025 for Governor of the year, will in a few days mark his Second anniversary in office.
