By 
Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has expressed appreciation to Abia workers for genuinely embracing the work ethics and standards of the New Abia.
Otti in his goodwill message to the workers in commemoration of the 2025 Workers’ Day on Thursday, paid homage to the Abia workforce whose resilience according to him has brought the present administration this far.
“Today’s celebration honours the present but also pays homage to those whose resilience and foresight brought us here. The history of labour is an account of human civilisation from the very beginning and while we have made giant leaps in the push to create higher output levels from available factor inputs, it is also pertinent that we acknowledge the enthusiasm and passion of those who worked with crude implements to produce food and factory goods, provide essential services and maintain law and order in their time.”
“To be honest, I am not surprised that the work ethic in Abia has changed drastically in the last 23 months. I had long maintained that human beings, especially workers, respond to how they are treated. The most significant reasons most workers lost their motivation before now and surrendered to the pull of absenteeism and poor productivity were related to the poor state of the physical environment, disregard for workers’ welfare and a general culture of wealth without work promoted mostly by former public office holders and their lackeys. Only a dishonest person would imagine that an employee whose entitlements have not been paid for several months would put in their best at work, the same for the man or woman who literally passes through hellfire to access their homes or offices.”
The governor who was full of praises for the workers, lauded them for actively creating value, prioritising their official responsibilities while supporting their superiors to deliver on the statutory mandates of their respective offices.
While he acknowledged that his administration has not met 100% of the demands of the workers, he reminded them that Rome was not built in a day.
Governor Otti also reiterated the relevance of this year’s theme, Reclaiming the Civic Space in the Midst of Economic Hardship.
“As I had earlier hinted, I would be the first to acknowledge that we have not met 100% of your demands but again as I always remind us, Rome was not built in a day. As you may recall, we are coming from a very bad place and had been battling to meet the burden of unpaid salary and pension arrears left by those who came before us. In the past 23 months, we have committed sums in excess of N30 billion to offset arrears and we are still not done. We are also in discussion with many of your colleagues who were arbitrarily dismissed from the civil service by the past government for reason of where they originally hailed from, not minding their immense contributions to the growth of the State. Our plan is to properly compensate them for the grave injustice done them and ultimately make things right with them.
We must never be known as a State that discriminates against people on account of baseless sentiments and primordial political considerations. Abia is, and will always be welcoming to all hard-working men and women.”
Governor Otti took time to enumerate some of his administration’s policies that favour workers, including approval for the recruitment of 771 health workers to enhance efficient service delivery in the health sector.
“This week also, I gave approval for the recruitment of 771 health workers to enhance efficient service delivery in the health sector. Do bear in mind that we are presently building and retrofitting over 200 health facilities in different parts of the State. The new batch of professionals we plan to recruit shall be deployed to these facilities to attend to the health needs of the population. Still on health, we recently launched the formal sector health insurance programme with civil servants as the primary target. I have just been informed that about 20, 000 persons have since been enrolled for the programme. We expect to double and even triple the figures in the next few weeks. This initiative is designed to cut down out-of-pocket expenditure for the workforce and generally improve the health experience of our civil servants and their families. Clearly, the State Government is very mindful of the welfare of its workforce and shall remain unrelenting, subject to the availability of resources and other pressing development needs, in pursuing the wellbeing of the men and women who are actively shaping the character of the New Abia.”
“Permit me to inform this large gathering of workers that I paid careful attention to the requests of the State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, the ones made by his Trade Union Congress counterpart and other colleagues representing diverse interests within the labour community in the State and I agree they are most valid. May I respectfully assure you that each request shall be painstakingly considered and actions taken as required – again, subject to the availability of resources. What I can however say immediately, is that we shall continue to engage and interact with you as we work to build a state that responds to the needs of its present and future generations.”
“Let me conclude by speaking briefly on the theme for this year’s event — “Reclaiming the Civic Space in the Midst of Economic Hardship.” I want to acknowledge the brilliance and relevance of this theme to the situation many Nigerians are passing through presently. We must remain honest in our assessment even as we continue to look to the future with optimism. I would, however, encourage us to remain hopeful as we work collectively to overcome the current tide of challenges besetting our economy. It is not the end of the road, things would get better and together, we shall smile again.”
“My commitment to you, Abia workers, is that we shall always put you first because you deserve no less. We are eternally grateful for your continuing support and prayers for the administration. Together, we shall build a State that works for every hardworking man and woman.”
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