Senior civil servants yesterday refuted claim of the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, that the Federal Government is not in default of the payment of salary and allowance arrears.
Speaking under the auspices of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, the civil servants noted that contrary to Okonjo-Iweala’s claim, the federal government owed over N3 billion in arrears of salaries and allowances.
The Minister, who spoke last week in reaction to an appeal by APC governors and governors-elect for President- elect to bail-out them out in order to pay workers, blamed governors for their inability to pay their workers stressing that the 50 per cent drop in revenue simply means that salaries should be prioritised by the states.
“The Federal Government should not be blamed for avoidable mistakes made at state level. It is misinforming to allege that federal workers were being owed salaries. This is incorrect. Staff salaries at the federal level are up to date; workers have received their April salaries,” she had said.
But in a statement issued by the Secretary- General of ASCSN, Alade Bashir Lawal, the union noted that the arrears of allowances owed in the Federal Ministry of Education alone amounted to N2 billion while that of the Ministry of Defence was about N1 billion.
The association then went on to task President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure that all outstanding salaries and allowances owed public servants are settled before his exit from office on May 29. Noting that there were still outstanding salaries and allowances to be paid to certain categories of workers in some Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, MDAs, it held that some of the allowances owed workers since 2007 have not been cleared.
“We urge Mr. President to do the needful by ordering thorough investigation with a view to paying all outstanding salaries and allowances to affected officers before he leaves office.
“This will not only allow the incoming administration to start on a clean slate in terms of payment of staff emoluments, but also further boost the image of Mr. President as a statesman,” said the union.
ASCSN listed the outstanding allowances owed thousands of public servants to include promotion arrears since 2007 to date, first 28 days in lieu of hotel accommodation, Duty Tour Allowance, DTA, mandatory training allowance organised by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation in 2010, burial expenses and repatriation allowance.
“We believe that if Mr. President can pay these outstanding legitimate salaries and allowances to thousands of public servants, he would not only endear himself to the public service employees, but also leave his footprints on the sands of time. But if he leaves office without paying, public servants will surely have a different impression of him,” it stated.
Speaking under the auspices of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, the civil servants noted that contrary to Okonjo-Iweala’s claim, the federal government owed over N3 billion in arrears of salaries and allowances.
The Minister, who spoke last week in reaction to an appeal by APC governors and governors-elect for President- elect to bail-out them out in order to pay workers, blamed governors for their inability to pay their workers stressing that the 50 per cent drop in revenue simply means that salaries should be prioritised by the states.
“The Federal Government should not be blamed for avoidable mistakes made at state level. It is misinforming to allege that federal workers were being owed salaries. This is incorrect. Staff salaries at the federal level are up to date; workers have received their April salaries,” she had said.
But in a statement issued by the Secretary- General of ASCSN, Alade Bashir Lawal, the union noted that the arrears of allowances owed in the Federal Ministry of Education alone amounted to N2 billion while that of the Ministry of Defence was about N1 billion.
The association then went on to task President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure that all outstanding salaries and allowances owed public servants are settled before his exit from office on May 29. Noting that there were still outstanding salaries and allowances to be paid to certain categories of workers in some Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, MDAs, it held that some of the allowances owed workers since 2007 have not been cleared.
“We urge Mr. President to do the needful by ordering thorough investigation with a view to paying all outstanding salaries and allowances to affected officers before he leaves office.
“This will not only allow the incoming administration to start on a clean slate in terms of payment of staff emoluments, but also further boost the image of Mr. President as a statesman,” said the union.
ASCSN listed the outstanding allowances owed thousands of public servants to include promotion arrears since 2007 to date, first 28 days in lieu of hotel accommodation, Duty Tour Allowance, DTA, mandatory training allowance organised by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation in 2010, burial expenses and repatriation allowance.
“We believe that if Mr. President can pay these outstanding legitimate salaries and allowances to thousands of public servants, he would not only endear himself to the public service employees, but also leave his footprints on the sands of time. But if he leaves office without paying, public servants will surely have a different impression of him,” it stated.
Na wa oh...thIs woman with figures ....gbese go plenty for her head as soon as she leaves office oh....
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