By: Daniel Domotimi.
Weeks after the payment of December bonus to Bayelsa State Civil Servants, Staff of the Bayelsa State International Airport, BIA, are yet to receive theirs.
Investigation revealed that Staff of BIA, had not been benefiting from any of it’s statutory rights and privileges which included promotion of workers since it’s inception.
For the fear of being penalized by the management Staff whom had relentlessly issue out threat to their subordinate, the BIA workers only had to gnash their teeth over the alleged syphon of their bonus.
Out of proportion, the BIA Account officer, Mr. Deki Tari Isaac had told staff that the money had hit the BIA account but could not be assessed due to the Naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
Areanewsng.com Bayelsa Correspondent can report that when contacted via telephone, Mr. Isaac stated that “issues like this can only be discussed in his office.
“This kind of issue, we have to see face to face, I can not talk, you don’t know me and I don’t know you, book an appointment with me in my office and then I can talk”, he added.
While the Managing Director, Abraham Apereseimokomo Alfred continued his threats to the staff over speaking up on the alleged syphon, the Airport Manager, Mrs. Elizabeth Apkama had insisted that the non payment of their December bonus was not peculiar to BIA alone but a case of many Government parastatals and agencies which includes the Niger Delta University, NDU amongst others.
“It’s not just Bayelsa International Airport, BIA, that is affected, it’s Government ineptitude nature, it’s all the parastatals and public servants.
“The Niger Delta University, NDU, too were not paid, if they pay me too I will benefit so am not happy with the Government, am also an employee there, they were supposed to be paid and we thought they will be paid like the pronouncement from the State Government.
“Our accountant had even told them the manner at which this money’s will be paid when received only for him to go there and called me the next day and said Madam, we are not included.
“They paid to core Civil Servants alone so the best we could do was to lobby because it wasn’t an entitlement”, she stated.
Responding to the claim by the Bayelsa International Airport, the Public Relations Officer, PRO, Niger Delta University, NDU, Mr. Ingezi said, the states own University had been a sole beneficiary of all it’s entitlements including the December bonuses that was paid to Civil Servants.
However, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Daniel Alabrah when contacted, told our correspondent that, the best that can be done by the BIA Staff as regards non inclusion as said by the Airport Management was to make an appeal and not antagonistic.
