By Fred Akporuno
It’s no longer news that the economic downturn in the country made it extremely difficult for the various local government councils in Nigeria to pay their staff salaries as at when due.
The situation engendered an ugly scenario where local government staff were owed as much as twelve to fourteen months salaries, which brought about untold hardship on the workers, their families and dependants.
Prior to this time, salaries of civil servants and other public officers, were paid as at when due, and therefore, did not give room for people to bother with the details of the fiscal laws governing such payments until the APC and Buhari’s government induced-recession set in!
The federal government which is the first tier of government takes care of its workers. Same with the state government down to the 3rd tier, which is the local government councils. Of course, each of these different tiers takes care of the salaries of their employees
However, because of the poor economic situation and the corresponding fall in global oil prices, which adversely affected Nigeria’s monthly earnings, many local government councils across the country became almost financially insolvent, and were unable to meet their statutory responsibility, which unfortunately, included payment of staff salaries. The situation became unbearable to the extent that workers at that tier began crying out to the state government for their salaries. The explanation that it was not the responsibility of state government to pay them salaries seemed to fall on deaf ears, especially against the backdrop of the understandable biting hunger they were experiencing. The issue generated so much debate across the land, making it difficult to arrive at a common ground.
Be that as it may, down here in Delta State, God has blessed us with a humane governor in the person of Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, who puts a human face to governance.
Gov. Okowa mounted the saddle of leadership in the state at a time the statutory allocations to the state could no longer offset the state’s huge wage bill of over 7 billion naira. It took his rare administrative acumen to be able to navigate through those extremely trying times, as even the internally generated revenue (IGR) was nothing to refer to due to militant activities then that almost crippled the country’s economy with most of the attacks centred in Delta State.
Then comes the tricky issue of the local government workers’ salaries; wherein Okowa’s ingenuity in dealing with the challenge should be commended. He didn’t hesitate to lend support to the councils in the state by way of monthly assistance or bailout to the tune of 600million naira.
Wth the picture I have painted above, you’ll agree with me that the governor had to be really magnanimous to be able to sustain this bail out even before the famed Paris club refund came in.
In all this, the governor never owed the state government workers a dime. Their salaries were paid as at when due, with various people oriented projects still ongoing and completed within the period of near- suffocating economic challenge.
Once again, the governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa has demonstrated that his administration’s policies and agenda are primarily about the people, not considering the facts about the fiscal laws pertaining to payment of workers’ salaries at the different levels of government. With the recent release of a whopping 800 million naira, to assist councils in the state in offsetting part of the salary arrears of their staff, which the state chapter of NULGE had acknowledged and also commended the governor for.
It is hoped that the kind gesture of the governor will help in reducing the pains of council staff in Delta State, and to put smiles on their faces.
Finally, I want to say kudos to the people’s governor for setting the right priorities and going out of his way to help address the hardship faced by the LGA workers. I want to use this medium to admonish the workers to ignore attempts by some partisan disgruntled elements to politicise the governor’s kind gesture.
Fred Akporuno, a political analyst and social commentator writes from Warri, Delta State.
