The senator representing Rivers East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Andrew Uchendu, says he would continue to fulfill his promise to provide effective representation by being the voice of the voiceless and the defender of the defenceless in Rivers State, and in the country at large.

Uchendu, Acting Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Procurement, in a statement issued in Port Harcout on Tuesday, stated that hope has been restored to the lives of 108 Federal Civil Servants, Rivers citizens inclusive, who were recruited by the Federal Civil Service Commision (FCSC) in 2014, but did not receive salaries and allowances for over three years.

He said: "These persons were not paid their financial entitlements for such a long time because they were not included in the payment schedule of the Federal Civil Service for various reasons, including not being captured on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

"I was worried and unhappy that citizens of this country who were duly recruited according to the Federal Civil Service rules since 2014, could not receive their salaries and entitlements, even when their colleagues were getting monthly remunerations ever since.

"This prompted me to move a motion on the floor of the Red Chamber on January 30, 2018, that sought the speedy inclusion of these Federal Civil Servants into the IPPIS, and prayed the Senate to investigate why they were not captured on the system.

"Consequently, the Senate, adopted the prayer raised through the motion which received support from all the senators present at plenary, and directed its Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters to investigate why the Federal Civil Servants in question were not captured on the IPPIS platform.

"Today, I am delighted to inform Nigerians that following the motion, subsequent investigation and intervention by the Senate, these 108 Federal Civil Servants have now been fully captured on the IPPIS and enlisted for payment of salaries and allowances by the FCSC. I am glad because God has used me to bring succour and greater hope to these our brothers and sisters."

Earlier, the Senate, through the instrumentality of Uchendu, after due investigation, directed the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), to reinstate and pay all salaries and entitlements to Oleli Amadi, a prisons officer who was wrongfully dismissed after 30 years of meritorious service.

According to Uchendu, "This is what is generally referred to as effective representation. I assure the people of Rivers State that, I will continue to be their ear, eye and mouth in the Senate. This is my solemn pledge."

Solomon Okocha
Media Aide to Senator Andrew Uchendu
Rivers East Senatorial District

September 18, 2018

Thank God