Civil Servants, ors threaten to shut down State economy

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Udoessien

Despite the Udom Emmanuel led government attempts to justify what they termed as Tax Rebirth in Akwa Ibom State and which must be paid by all Civil Servants in the State Government employ, civil servants in the state have drawn a battle line insisting that it is either they proceed on a protest strike or stay in the Civil service to sabotage it. Workers who spoke to our reporters at the Idongesit Nkanga secretariat expressed anger over the manner the state Government moved to impose the tax Rebirth policy on them. They reasoned that it was government’s height of wickedness.

A Director in the ministry of Agriculture while pleading not be named for fear of losing his job mentioned to one of our reporters that the Udom Emmanuel administration is not workers friendly. Our source maintained that a situation where the government invokes a wicked taxation policy on her work force while allowing politicians to be an exception to the rule is an indication that the leadership of the state is confused.
The Director Speaking further said, anytime soon, that Senior Civil Servants in the state will mobilize themselves and move to ensure that they stage a very serious protest against the Government. He emphasized that if the taxation policy had been workers friendly, that they would not have had a problem with it but that since the policy is rightly viewed by civil servants as a means where government wants to steal from them by tricks, then they are left with no other choice but to put it to government that they are angry.
A Deputy Director in the ministry of Youths and Sports who confided in our reporter described the taxation policy of Rebirth as a ploy to murder the finances of workers. He regretted that Government under Udom Emmanuel has seen the workers as a vulnerable set of people that should be manhandled.
He described the policy as unfair, draconian, wicked and unfortunate. He posited that what is even more annoying to workers is the manner in which the government is applying to get the money from them.
The Deputy Director hinted that Civil Servants are spoilt for war and will ensure that they register their protest so that the leadership of the state understands that there is problem and that they are not comfortable with the taxation policy.
Other civil servants who spoke to our reporter condemned in very terms the policy saying that it is a means of rendering them poor despite working to earn their pay.
A very reliable staff in the Government office said, Udom as an investment Banker instead of exploring other avenues of generating funds for the state has rather chosen to hurt, embarrass and insult the sensibilities of Akwa Ibom workers by imposing on them a wild and wicked taxation policy that will not do the people any good.
Our government source said Udom Emmanuel and his economic team should look for better ways of generating money for the state rather than seek for means of impoverishing the already disenfranchised workers in the state civil Service.