Akwa Ibom State governor, Umo Eno has warned his political aides for belittling their wages in public, insisting that his Personal Assistants (PA), who are the lowest of his numerous political appointees, earn a minimum of one million naira (N1m) monthly.
Eno made this statement during the Town Square Meeting with the people of Ikono and Ini Federal Constituency at Ibiaku Ntok Okpo where he elevated his PA on Protocol, Blessed Essien, to Special Assistant (SA), Public Works, for making a difference when he donated a water borehole for his community.
The governor said, “As I arrived here, they gave me one brochure by a PA who out of the token (pay) he gets, has gone to his community to do a borehole and has reticulated it around the village. One man has done this, but some of them with political appointments are still lying to their people that the governor has done nothing. He has done nothing, and you’re still there. Some say ordinary PA, but a PA to the governor of a state cannot be ordinary.
“Hear me well, no PA earns less than a million naira. And when they want to talk, they will say it is a stipend. You call N1m stipend.
“N1m is not a stipend to me, it is serious money.
“So I’ve asked the Secretary of the Government to compile names of all political appointees according to their local government areas, we are going to publish it in the newspaper.”
The governor then tasked the people, saying, “call your PAs, call your SAs, SSAs, call your Commissioner, ask them, what have you done?”. He then told Essien, “today you are being promoted from PA to SA (to the Governor) on Public Works.”
