“This Is Wickedness, How Can You Sleep Soundly When Workers Are Unpaid?” – Buhari Blasts State Governors Inability To Pay Workers

“This Is Wickedness, How Can You Sleep Soundly When Workers Are Unpaid?” – Buhari Blasts State Governors Inability To Pay Workers

President Muhammadu Buhari has shown concern over unpaid salaries and allowances of state workers in spite of interventions by the Federal Government.

Speaking when he received a group of governors led by Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) Chairman Abdul’Aziz Yari at the State House in Abuja, Buhari said the plight of workers in the states needed attention urgently as many could barely survive.

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“How can anyone go to bed and sleep soundly when workers have not been paid their salaries for months.

“I actually wonder how the workers feed their families, pay their rent and even pay school fees for their children.”

President Buhari told the governors that the challenge in payment of salaries in states had taken a toll on the people. Adding that the Federal Government and state executives would need to work closely to ameliorate the situation of workers.

Governors on the delegation were Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom, Southsouth); Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara, Northcentral); Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo, Southwest); Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi, Northwest); Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi Northeast) and Ebonyi Deputy Governor Kelechi Igwe, who stood in for the Southeast.

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The Federal Government on May 4 released details of the N243.795 billion second tranche of the Paris Club refund to states.

A breakdown of the second tranche payment is as follows:

Abia got N5.72 billion; Adamawa, N6.11 billion; Akwa Ibom, N10 billion; Anambra, N6.12 billion; Bauchi, N6.88 billion; Bayelsa, N10 billion; Benue, N6.85 billion; and Borno N7.34 billion.

Cross River got N6.08 billion, Delta, N10 billion; Ebonyi, N4.51 billion; Edo, N6.09 billion; Ekiti, N4.77 billion; Enugu, N5.36 billion; Gombe, N4.47 billion; Imo, N7 billion; Jigawa, N7.11 billion; and Kaduna, N7.72 billion.

Kano got N10 billion, Katsina, N8.2 billion; Kebbi, N5.98 billion; Kogi, N6.03 billion; Kwara, N5.12 billion; Lagos, N8.37 billion; Nasarawa, N4.55 billion; Niger, N7.2 billion; and Ogun, N5.7 billion.

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Ondo N7 billion; Osun, N6.3 billion; Oyo, N7.9 billion; Plateau, N5.64 billion; Rivers, N10 billion; Sokoto, N6.44 billion; Taraba, N5.61 billion; Yobe, N5.41 billion; Zamfara, N5.44 billion; and the Federal Capital Territory, N684 million.

The refund is in respect of over-deductions on Paris Club, London Club Loans and Multilateral debts between 1995 and 2002.

Chairman of the Forum and Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari said the various interventions by the Federal Government, which included the bailouts, were judiciously utilised by the states.

He said the governors inherited backlog of unpaid salaries and huge debts.

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Source – TheNation