When I read on Nigerian Post that Yahaya Bello-led Kogi State government has started playing pranks with the agreement with labour to use 70% of the N13.8billion Paris Club refund to pay salary arrears I thought it was mere gossip but I read this morning that commissioner for finance, Asiwaju Idris Asiru has confirmed the reports.
Asiru proudly declared that they have sucessfully reduced the wage bill from N3.1billion inherited from past administration but have reduced it to N2.73billion after the staff verification exercise. Why the sudden plan to use table payment now? To further reduce the wage bill?
I was discussing with a labour leader in Lokoja last week and he said the state government is desperate to get the last tranche of the Paris Cub refund but need to get an undertaking from the labour bodies before the monies will be released. It was obviously from the onset that the desperation to quickly access the refund is not for the love of civil servants but to have bulk sum for ‘the usual’. Labour and government agreed that 70% of the refund be paid into a salary account strictly for the purpose of paying arrears of workers’ emoluments while the remaining 30% will paid into a projects account for executing projects. I told the man that bad news will be the end result of this arrangement.
First, if Yahaya Bello is sincerely concerned about the plight of workers he will commit the entire funds to payment of salaries and pensions. 100% of the refund cannot pay all outstanding but he would have made a bold statement that if money is available he will pay all outstanding. But he cannot afford to use all the ‘free money’ to pay civil servants with personal benefits. Where will he get loose cash to buy additional cars for thugs?
Secondly, we all know the 30% reserved for ‘projects’ will end just like previous funds. He quickly flag off some small projects in the three senatorial districts, saturate the media with hype that projects are on-going everywhere in the state and fiam! the rest will be history.
Thirdly, he will feel ‘cheated’ that workers get a whooping 70% of ‘his’ money while he gets a paltry 30%. He will not rest until ‘something’ happens to the 70% agreed upon to use to salary payment.
Now, my fears have been confirmed. Instead of paying the little he can pay with the agreed 70% of the Paris Club refund, he has come up with another yahoo-yahoo ploy; to pay one month directly into workers accounts (as it has been done all along) with the last allocation received but will resort to table payment for the payments from the Paris Club refund! My heart bleeds for Kogi workers. Expect another tales by moonlight from this well-planned strategy to defraud Kogi workers.
We must reject the criminal plan to disburse the Paris Club refund through table payment. We must insist that the 70% of the refund be paid directly into individual worker’s salary account. If he doubts the monthly salary schedule generated by his appointees; Accountant General, Commissioner for Finance and others, let him start table payment after full utilization of the insufficient 70% refund share for civil servants. If we fail to insist now, we will cry out later.
I read that the government said they have put in place a seamless process to make the exercise convenient and hitch-free. We heard the same thing when the 14-months screening was about to start but we know what we went through eventually. I appreciate your assurance of convenience but we beg to be spared this time around.
Must Yahaya Bello start acting strange drama anytime huge sums comes in for salaries and pensions? This is becoming a routine executive pattern for shortchanging workers and it must not be allowed to continue.
N10billion share of the Paris Club refund is not enough to wipe our tears, it is not enough to pay all that you are owing us, it is not enough to pay for our accumulated debts to schools, clinics, food vendors, cooperative societies, and so on. Please, we beg in the name of God Almighty, do not subject us to another round of pains after the long wait. Pay us what is due to us from the Paris Club refund now and carry out your table payment thereafter.
– Adamu Ojonugwa writes with pain from Lokoja
