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An APC Chieftain, Ujo Justice (PhD), has described as cruel irony that the Labour Party government in Abia elected on promises to defend workers and pensioners still pays its staff a miserable ₦29,000 monthly, even when the new national minimum wage stands at over ₦70,000.
According to him, at the Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), Medical Doctors earn about ₦240,000, while qualified nurses receive ₦80,000. He said these salaries fall far short of the ₦500,000 benchmark the government once promised for healthcare professionals.
“To make matters worse, more than 100 nurses and 40 doctors whose recruitment was publicly celebrated have reportedly not been paid since March 2025.
Justice said those of them determined to checkmate the excesses of the Alex Otti-led administration which has proven to be long on propaganda and short on substance, insist that this government must be measured by the enormous resources it now controls, adding that fuel subsidy removal quadrupled state allocations, giving Abia a monthly take home of ₦38 billion. By every measure, the state can afford to pay its workers decently and still retain N32billion .
“Unfortunately, majority of these workers believe that the hardship they face is only caused by the APC Government led by Mr President , whom they accuse of introducing reforms without safety nets especially for the poor.
“This is where the big questions arise: Why are Abia workers still being paid ₦29,000 when the Federal Government has already signed into law, a ₦70,000 minimum wage? Why does Governor Alex Otti continue to mislead Abians by claiming he is paying the new minimum wage and ensuring frequent salary payments when evidence on ground shows otherwise?
He said the state’s total monthly wage bill for both state and local government workers stands at about ₦6.9 billion far less than its FAAC inflow, saying, “This means salaries could be adjusted without straining the state’s finances. Instead, workers remain impoverished while the government spends billions on non existent projects: ₦6.5 billion on recreational facilities, ₦54 billion on renovations of unspecified schools, and N88billion running the Government from the Governors village.
Arguing further, Justice said ” A recent ABSUTH salary alert shared by a health worker exposes the grim reality, shattering the glossy image pushed by the government’s well funded content creators, bloggers, and skit makers. For many Abians, no amount of rhetoric or comparisons with past administrations can excuse the neglect of workers.
“In a state with 18.7 percent unemployment rate, the worst in Nigeria, the refusal to implement the new minimum wage and the deception around wage payments amount to not just a betrayal of trust, but a governance disaster.
“The fundamental question remains: Why is Alex Otti lying to Abians about paying the new minimum wage when workers’ pay slips tell a completely different story?
“The Nigeria Labour Congress( NLC) in Abia has been castrated and workers are afraid to protest as many who complained have been quietly sacked by the Government.
“Until the government offers honest answers and takes corrective steps, the much-publicized “new Abia” will remain nothing but a social media fantasy.”
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