A number of Nigerian states might be battling with insolvency despite the issuance of bail out funds by the Federal Government.
No fewer than 12 states are still owing their workers a backlog of salaries and allowances, despite double bailout funds from the Federal Government, with Kogi
State owing as many as 15 months, Vanguard investigations has revealed. Also on the list of heavily indebted states are
Osun, 12 months; Kwara, 11; Bayelsa, 7; Ondo, 7; Ekiti, 6; and Oyo, 6. Others are Benue State, 4 months; Nasarawa State, 2; Abia, 2; Imo, 2; as well as several
months of unpaid allowances and Ogun State, which owes over six months of unremitted deductions from workers’ salaries for cooperatives, union dues,
among others.
This revelation came as Organised Labour accused the Federal Government of owing civil servants a whopping N290 billion
promotion arrears, lamenting that all efforts at making the government pay had not
yielded any positive result.
Giving an overview of the salary situations across the states, Secretary-General of Association of Senior Civil Servants of nigeria, ASCSN, Bashir Alade Lawal, told
Vanguard that some states were still defaulting in payment, in spite of the huge bailout received from the Federal Government.
He said: “Osun State is owing one year, Ekiti is owing six months, Oyo is owing six months, Ondo is owing seven months; Beyelsa is owing seven months; Abia, two
months; Benue four months; Kogi 15 months; Nasarawa three months.
‘’Ogun can claim it is not owing but it is not paying deductions from workers’ salaries in
some cases, six, seven, eight months. They are only paying net, not gross. So, if you have paid net and you have not paid all
deductions, you have not paid full salaries.
‘’As at today, Anambra is not owing, likewise Borno, Delta, Edo, Ebonyi, Cross River, Rivers,
Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Lagos, Niger, Plateau, Taraba, Zamfara
and Sokoto.
“Anywhere in the world, you pay workers’ salaries first before doing anything else. For example, in Osun State, some senior staff are
being owed over two years allowances. In order words, you can simply say they are
being owed one year salaries. What are the explanations? ‘’Bailout has been given about
three times and the last one with clear directive from the Federal Government for the states to focus on salaries and pensions,
but Osun State government claimed that government was not instructed to use the entire bailout to pay workers’ salaries.”
In Kwara State, Vanguard gathered that the government has not paid staff in the parastatals in the state up to March, 2017
and that the last time workers were paid was February 2017.
It was also learned that the local
government workers are worse off as they are being owed as many as 11 months, with
the exemption of Barutin Local Government which had paid up to date because of its low personnel staff and the remote location.
Reacting to the development, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of
kwara State on Media and Communications, Dr Muideen Akorede, told Vanguard that the
state government had paid workers in state parastatals , their salaries He said: “We are up to date, so we are not owing any of our staff. If anyone has not
been paid, such staff will be paid before the close of this week. Though I don’t have all
the details, you may please contact Commissioner for Finance, Demola Banu, for more information.”
Vanguard checks, however, confirmed that staff of state-owned Kwara TV; Herald
Newspapers, Radio Kwara, were paid their March salaries last week.
In Ondo State, Vanguard also gathered that the state government was owing six month
salaries- August to December 2016 and January 2017, though the new governor, Rotimi Akeredolu paid salaries of August,
2016 as well as February and March 2017.
In is reaction, Chief Press Secretary to the governor , Segun Ajiboye, said the immediate past government owed workers
six months ( August 2016 to January 2017) salaries but noted that the present administration under Rotimi Akeredolu, had
paid February and March 2017 to workers on assumption of office.
He added that during the Easter period, Governor Akeredolu also paid the arrears of August 2016 to workers to celebrate the
festivity.
