Bayelsa Poll: I’ll clear salary arrears within first 100 days, says Sylva

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva has vowed to, within his first 100 days in office, clear the backlog of salaries reportedly being owed primary school teachers in the state.

Sylva who also promised to create jobs to engage the teeming youths and women in the state, during his campaigns to Ekeremor and Aleibiri communities in Ekeremor Local Government Area, regretted that instead of providing jobs, the present state government is sacking workers.

The APC candidate while addressing a mammoth crowd at the council headquarters civic centre/square, yesterday, said the APC’s combination of himself and Joshua Maciver as his running mate is a better alternative to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

His words: “We will bring electricity and water to Ekeremor and we will also pay all the salaries that are being owed our teachers. I understand that five months salary arrears are being owed primary school teachers. That will be paid in the first 100 days of my government.

“I do not believe that the salaries our people are earning is good enough for them to withhold, if the salaries are too small then why do you still have to owe them? The salaries, they cannot live on them normally, yet you owe them again on top of that, that is inhumane and wickedness, that is why we say you must change this wicked government.

“I also understand that some people have been unjustly relieved of their jobs, I will bring them back as soon as I enter. We have to create jobs for our people instead of removing them from the ones they have We will create jobs and make sure that our people have a means of livelihood.

“When we come the first thing is to focus on youth empowerment and education. I promise and my promise is a bond, I said I was going to create women millionaires in Ekeremor Local Government Area and by the time I am leaving as governor, I will come back and count the number of women millionaires in Ekeremor, the youths we have empowered, the schools we have built.

“Today I hear that they are hawking appointments everywhere, the appointments that they didn’t give you before, now they want to give you. I’m telling you don’t fall for that trick. The last time they gave appointments like that they didn’t even collect their salaries before they were sacked again because if you look at it this government is an outgoing one, if you have an appointment how many months are you going to stay?”

He appealed to the people of Ekeremor to engage in a house-to-house campaign to create awareness for the people to come out in their numbers on November 11 to ensure that the APC is victorious.