Staff members of Imo State House of Assembly have rejected the 50 per cent reduction in their salary cheques.
The staff, during a protest, said the salary cheques for May which were issued on Friday, would not be accepted by any of them.
Chairman of the Imo Chapter of Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), Mrs Ngozi Ofoegbu, told the News of Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Owerri on Monday, that the slash was unacceptable.
Ofoegbu said the staff had been owed salaries since April, adding that most of them had taken loans to survive.
The chairman also stated that the salaries of the staff should not be slashed under any circumstances.
“Our salaries were last paid in April, since then, we have been managing to survive; some of us have taken loans to enable us sustain our families until salaries are paid.
“We were dismayed when we received our cheques because our salaries had been reduced by half.
“A junior staff who receives N40,000 as his monthly salary got N20,000. After servicing the loan at the bank, the person goes home with nothing’’, she said.
Another staff member of the Assembly, Mr Kenneth Anyanwu, said nothing had been said about paying them their arrears.
He held that the salaries were hardly enough to survive on before the slash.
“As people with families, we have school fees and house rents and other responsibilities to take care of.
“We had hoped that the arrears would be paid in bulk so we can have something left after paying off the debts we have incurred’’, he said.
Anyanwu urged the State Government to reconsider the slash and pay the full salaries.
The Speaker of the House, Mr Iheanacho Ihim, urged the workers to remain calm as there was no money in the state’s treasury.
Ihim also said his salary was reduced by over 50 per cent and promised that he would ensure that they received their full salaries.