By Marie-Therese Nanlong,  Demola Akinyemi,  Festus Ahon,  Boluwaji Obahopo,  Gbenga Olarinoye,  Tina Akannam/Aliyu Dangida,  Ndahi Marama, Dennis Agbo,  Ola Ajayi, Dayo Johnson, Peter Duru, Jimitota Onoyume,  Daud Olatunji

The Federal Government recently released to the states, the second tranche of the Paris club loan refund. Expectedly, the refund meant a big relief especially to the workers who were owed several months arrears of salaries and were going through hard times. Some state governors, upon receiving their own share of the loan refund publicly declared how much was received and how it would be utilized.

In some states however, it was a game of cat and mouse between the workers, who are the stakeholders in the state and the governors, the custodian of the fund. The workers are agitated, they want to know how they are going to be paid their arrears of salaries, but the governors are yet to formally confirm having received the fund and keep the workers in suspense. Workers in some states actually protested the disbursement of the fund by the governors while some concerned citizens suggested how the fund could be judiciously utilized.

Gov.Simon-Lalong, Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed, Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa and Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi

PLATEAU

In Plateau state, the workers had accused the state government of keeping them in the dark regarding the state’s share of the Paris club loan refund. According to the State Vice-Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Samson Mafuyai, “We have not been called for any meeting regarding the refund. At the local government, we are still being owed four months of no work, no pay”.

Also, Comrade Paul Dakogol, Chairman, Joint Union of Plateau State-owned Tertiary Institutions, JUPTI said, “for us in the tertiary institutions, we are being owed five months outstanding salaries and the governor made some promises that as soon as he received this second tranche of Paris Club refund, he would be able to reduce some of the outstanding salaries. That has been our expectation but since the release of the fund, we have not heard anything from them, even the NLC had been waiting to be called.

For now, we may not declare strike, we have between now and December 2017, we will wait patiently believing that they will pay before the end of the year but if by that time, nothing comes out, we may declare an industrial action.” The threat by the workers prompted  the Commissioner for Finance, Tamwakat Weli to address a press conference on the issue on Thursday.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Sani Yahaya, she acknowledged Government’s receipt of the sum of N5, 644, 079, 055.41 as the state share of the refund and further gave a breakdown of how the money would be disbursed.  According to him, the state government will get N3, 389, 833, 880.68 representing 60.06% of the money while the 17 local government areas will get N2, 254, 245, 174. 73 representing 39.94% of the money.

KWARA

In Kwara state, workers across the 16 local governments as well as primary school teachers and staff of the state owned Colleges of Education in Oro and Ilorin were owed several months salaries while the state government promised to disburse N3.5bn to clear the outstanding salaries immediately the second tranche of the refund was released. But the announcement by the state Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Demola Banu that N1bn out of the N5.1bn which the state got as its share has been released to pay workers’ salaries did not go down well with the workers as they rejected it and threatened to embark on strike. They insisted that the government must part with 75 per cent of the N5.12bn which they claimed was what was agreed upon between the governors and the Federal Government before the money was released.

This prompted the State House of Assembly to set up an ad-hoc committee to mediate between the workers and the state government. Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, had to bow to pressures and approved additional N1bn to pay workers of the local government.

DELTA

In Delta, the state government received a total of N24 billion as its own share of the Paris club refund from which it has disbursed about N2 billion to the 25 Local Government councils in the state to enable the councils defray their workers salary arrears. The state government is not owing the workers except the union and cooperative deductions which were not being remitted as at when due. However, pensioners are being owed over N23 billion. Contacted to give details of the Paris club loan refund, the State Commissioner for Information, Mr Patrick Ukah   referred our correspondent to the State Head of Service who could not be reached as at press time.

KOGI

Kogi State Government has said it would allocate at least fifty percent of the N6.7bn it got to settle arrears of workers’ salary. The government also debunked allegation that the money had been hijacked by commercial banks due to loan commitment

According to the State Commissioner for Finance, Idris Ashiru, “the state government would spend at least half of the money on paying workers who had been successfully screened during the staff verification exercise embarked upon by the state.

“We are still spending but it will not be less than 50 percent, we will utilize half of the money on salary”. Ashiru also said the insinuation that commercial banks had withheld the state’s share of the refund to settle debts owed them was unfounded.

JIGAWA

In Jigawa state, the government is yet to decide on how to spend its own refund. The special adviser on media   to the Jigawa state governor, comrade Bello Zaki said the state government has not formally declared how it would utilize the refund.    Comrade Bello who spoke on behalf of the state governor Mohammed Badaru Abubakar said the state executive council was yet to deliberate on the matter. He however added that since the state was not    owing workers salaries, he expected that the money would be utilized to execute developmental projects like good roads, water, electricity, hospital equipment etc.

OSUN

As at July, 2017 Osun State Government is owing workers and pensioners one year salary following the government decision to adopt payment of modulated salary to all the workers. The decision to pay the workers modulated salary was arrived at after weeks of negotiation between government and the state chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, headed by Mr Jacob Adekomi. The modulated salary scale was only recently reviewed. Under the new régime, workers on grade level 1 to 7 are being paid full salary, those on grade level 8 to 12 are getting 75% of the normal salary while those on level 13 and above are paid 50%.

Findings show that salaries and pensions have been paid up to May, 2017. However, it remains uncertain if backlog of arrears of half paid salaries and pensions will be paid by government.

Although the government has not disclosed how it would utilize its own refund, the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Adelani Baderinwa assured workers that Governor Rauf Aregbesola has prioritized their entitlements in the second tranche of the Paris Club refund. According to Baderinwa, Aregbesola used the first tranche of the Paris club refund to pay three months salaries and pensions in 2016 without any agitation from the workers and the pensioners, adding that the governor would also make use of the second refund judiciously.

He stated that the state government has paid workers and pensioners in the state up till June.

BORNO

On his part, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno has not officially declared to the people of the state if he had received the refund and how he intended to utilize it. The state government was however not owing civil servants salaries. Some pensioners nonetheless have complained that they have not received their pension arrears for three months    As it is, the people of the state are anxiously waiting to see how    the governor will utilize the fund considering the lingering security challenge posed by Boko Haram,

ENUGU

WITH the release of the first batch of Paris Club debt refund, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu state commenced payment of backlog of workers salaries and pension inherited from the previous administration. However, few workers, particularly workers of parastatals, who had accumulated and complex problems were st ill being owed.

State Chairman of Nigeria Labour Co ngress, NLC, Comrade Virgilus Nwobodo said that as at July 24 2017, only pensioners of the state local government system are being owed even though the state government had since earmarked over N2 billion to clear the backlog. The State President of  Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, Comrade Kenneth Ugwueze    confirmed that with the release of Paris club debt refund, the state government gradually paid100 percent backlog for each staff of the local government system in the state who was previously owed. He said that Governor Ugwuanyi had setup a committee headed by a permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Finance, Dr Benedict Ezema, comprising ICPC, DSS, ALGON and NULGE representatives, to clear the backlog of salaries. Ugwueze said that the committee went from one local government council to the other to pay the local government employees.

OYO

In Oyo State, there are divergent views on how the Governor Abiola Ajimobi led administration would utilise the fund. The  Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Bimbo Adekanmbi said though the Federal Government’s directive was that 50 per cent of the fund should be used to offset workers’ salaries and pensions, his government, knowing the plight of the workers, would use 60 percent of the money to settle their arrears.

The commissioner who was flanked by  the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Toye Arulogun and Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Bashir Olanrewaju explained that  out of the first tranche of N7.2 billion Paris Club fund received, the state government spent over 60 percent of the fund in settling outstanding salaries and pension obligations, as against the stipulated 50 percent by the Federal Government    and that the same percentage will be used for the N7.9bn received last week.

ONDO

The Ondo state governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu confirmed last week that the state has received N7b as Paris club refund. Akeredolu had promised to expend the refund in the payment of workers and pensioners salaries. Already talks are on-going between the state government and NLC leaders on the modality of payment. The monthly wage bill of workers in the state when political appointees were still in place was N3.9b. lt is expected to reduce since only few political appointments have so far been made by the new helmsman in the state.

BENUE

Benue state, according to the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Terver Akase, received N6.460billion as its share of the second tranche of Paris Club refund from the federal government. Akase said “though what was published in newspapers was N6.8billion as the state’s share, what actually got to the government was N6.460 because five percent of the sum was paid as consultancy fee as agreed by all the state governments, so the government did not under declare what it got from the refund”.

The CPS assured that “in line with Governor Samuel Ortom’s avowed commitment to the welfare of workers and given the declaration of emergency on salary payment the fund would be dedicated to the payment of backlog of salaries owed workers.” Few days after the receipt of the refund, the Acting Governor of the state, Mr. Benson Abounu also convened a meeting with the leadership of the    organized labour in the state where he briefed them and reiterated the government’s decision to plough the fund into salary payment.

RIVERS

Rivers state governor , Mr Nyesom Wike confirmed that the state government received N17bn as its share of the fund but did not state how it will be spent. Some residents however argued that the fund must have been captured in the budget and the government already had projects to be executed.

OGUN

In Ogun state , many workers including pensioners were anxiously waiting for alerts from their banks following the   claim by   the state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun that he had given an order for the payment of some deductions   as well as pensions to the beneficiaries .