Abia Workers Still Paid ₦29,000 Despite #38bn Monthly Revenue Inflow and Wage Promises
In a twist of cruel irony, 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.
At the Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), medical doctors earn about ₦240,000, while qualified nurses receive ₦80,000. 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.
Those of us 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 the enormous resources it now controls. 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 believes that the hardship they face is only caused the APC Government led 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 claiming he is paying the new minimum wage and ensuring frequent salary payments when evidence on the ground shows otherwise?
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. 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.
A recent ABSUTH salary alert shared a health worker exposes the grim reality, shattering the glossy image pushed 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 unemploymen, 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 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.
Ujo Justice PhD
All Progressives Congress
Abia Stare
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