In the spirit of the yuletide season, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has doubled the salary of workers in December.
The 13th month’s salary dubbed; ‘Eno -Mber’, as Governor Eno declared on his Christmas day broadcast, was deliberately designed to put smiles on the faces of workers in the face of growing hardship occasioned by the ongoing socio-economic reforms in the country.
He said: “Let me use this opportunity to thank all those who have expressed such heart-warming and wonderful sentiments to us, for bringing Christmas cheers to our workers through the payment of the additional one month salary, making it 13 months which you have affectionately dubbed “Eno-Mber”.
“We will continue to pay special attention to our workers and also ensure that we create the enabling environment for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, (SMEs) which is the engine of growth, for any economy to thrive.
“We will continue to tackle those critically important kitchen-table issues, which affect families. We will continue to pay down gratuities to our retired workers, and ensure that our children go to school, especially at the primary level in an atmosphere that fosters creativity, academic excellence and social interactions, as exemplifies by the features and facilities at the newly rebuilt Model Primary School at Christ the King School, on Wellington Bassey Way, Uyo, which would be replicated in all local government areas.
“We are doing same, in the healthcare sector, with the soon-to- be commissioned model healthcare centre, located in Ikot Nkowk, Ibesikpo Asutan LGA.
This is a season of joy and goodwill. I call on our people to continue to live in peace and unity and eschew tendencies that seek to divide us. As I have been saying: Politics is long gone. It’s now time for governance. We should bury and throw into the trash can, the cards of hatred, of whipping non-existing schisms and of demonizing our leaders and symbols of authority.”
He said from Ibibio to Annang lands, to Oro Nation, to Obolo, they are united and shaped by the language of love and unity, adding that they are homogenous, therefore, let no one throw a poisonous substance into their otherwise calm waters of unity and kindred spirit.
“We will continue to flow with the waves of love and amity and as you celebrate this day, please remember to reach out to those who may have fallen on the rough patches of life. Don’t just give hand-outs, give them a hand to get up and let us together ‘ARISE’ and work to extend the frontiers of the golden era of our collective growth, development and progress,” he said.
