ASABA/Nigeria: The Delta State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has welcome the loan recently giving to states by the federal government.
The party in a statement made available to Ndokwa Reporters said the loan which was to a tone of N28 million was made available to 35 states to enable them offset workers salary before the end of the year.
According the statement, which was signed by the Chairman of the party, Prophet Jones Ode Erue in the statement said that the amount of N800 million is the share for the state.
“We welcomes the most recent loan package of N28 billion offered to 35 states of the federation by President Buhari, who had also vowed to put a smile on the faces of workers during this Christmas season. Delta State is entitled to N800million of the loan, and It was on account of this that Gov. Okowa approved N800 million to reduce the salary burden of Local Government Council workers in the state”.
The statement while expressing their joy for the local government workers, said that the payment will bring happiness to the workers and families.
“We are very happy for the relief that this payment will bring to the families of many Council workers who have suffered extreme neglect for too long”.
The party expressed said that they are appalled at the way the state government is trying to take credit for the money.
“We are appalled by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s attempt to take credit for it. He should learn to reap where he sows and not be crafty”.
“It is President Buhari”s decision to make 2017 Christmas season better for workers by approval of N28bn to pay salaries that has now brought a smile on the faces of many Civil Servants. This was what prompted Governor Okowa to release N800m which is the exact loan that was advanced by President Buhari to Delta State. Therefore the credit for this relief should rightly go to the APC federal government”.
It stated that the state government is trying to pay the outstanding salaries because of the upcoming local government election in January.
“Okowa declaration during a recent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign rally for local government elections at Ozoro, Isoko North and Oleh, Isoko South LGAs that his administration is not owing workers, and was quoted as saying, “we feel the pains of our brothers and sisters in the local government council” is a pretence to mislead Deltans that he cares for workers. Deltans are aware that Okowa was only forced to pay up now because of the forthcoming Council elections”.
“The truth remains that Okowa does not feel the pain of workers. If he did he would have long approved payment to them just as President Buhari did when he gave bailout to all the States to pay workers salaries a few months after he was sworn in, at a time when federal government revenue was even on the decline. Now that Delta State allocation has improved tremendously, we would have expected Okowa to release more than N800 million, being the exact equivalent of the loan that the Federal government approved”.
“We are all witnesses to recent protests by retirees in Delta State to the state’s House of Assembly and Government House to pour out their grievances under the umbrella of the Association of Retired Local Government Staff and Primary School Teachers where they criticized Gov. Okowa of insensitivity and non-payment of entitlements owed them since 2013, and on the misuse of President Buhari’s bailout funds and the Paris Club refunds received by the State”.
“Okowa knows well that workers salaries are on the first line charge on income, so he does not need to wait till the state economy is buoyant before he would respond to workers cries”.
“The State must be seen to take responsibility when things go wrong with Local Government Councils because the Council Executives were installed by his party, PDP”.
“And as things stand, non-payment of Council salaries is evidence of incompetence that should ordinarily draw a ‘vote of no confidence’ on all the Council Executives. They failed the people they were elected to serve, yet Okowa is aiming to possibly return some of them back into office having nominated them as candidates in the upcoming January 2018 Local Government elections”.
“If Okowa feels the pain of workers, we advise him to borrow a leaf from President Buhari’s honest commitment to workers”.
