Following the report which reveals 12 states owing their workers different months of salaries, Delta state government says the report has justified its claims. In this brief interview with Austin Oyibode of ZENITHBLOG.com, Amaechi Udemba, media assistant to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state, he speaks on how far the state is working to keep its workers happy and wipe out ghost workers from the system. Excerpts:
There has been so much noise over Delta state government owing workers but it has been established that the state is not owing workers, how do you see the development?
I’m delighted with the publication of today. It clearly indicates that Delta state government is not owing salaries. Of course this has been our position that since the inception of this administration, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has positioned the issue of workers’ salaries as a priority.
In this state, workers are paid before any other thing is done. So, today’s publication which states clearly that Delta state is among the states not owing salaries is a vindication of our position. It’s also an avenue for us to appeal to mischief makers who either for political or selfish reasons, are peddling rumour. They should please, desist from it.
It is important that even though you want to play opposition, there should be element of truth. We welcome constructive criticism. It’s important that we tell the public the truth. This government will continue to pay workers. Today is 25 of April, by next week, workers will get their April salaries.
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state
This government will not fail because Governor Okowa is concerned about the welfare of workers. He believes that every worker in Delta must get their salaries as soon as it is ready.
What about the issue of local government salaries because what we are hearing is that of state government workers?
We must understand that there are three tiers of government. The local government is in charge of paying their workers. The state government is in charge of paying civil servants under the state pay roll.
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In the case of local governments in Delta state, I have heard as media assistant to Governor Okowa where people say that local governments are being owed by state government, that is not true. The Delta state government is not owing local government workers.
Local government workers are owed by their various councils. And that is a result of the fact that the economic situation now is tight, there is a sharp drop in revenue accruable to local governments as a result of the general condition of the country.
It is not the making of Delta state governor. The local government workers are having issues because of fall in revenue. If the revenue to the local government improves, I’m sure they will be able to meet their obligations to their workers. It is not the fault of the state governor that local government workers are not being paid as at when due. It is entirely the fault of the local government councils.
Some people have complained of delayed salaries, some are not paid at all
Well, those that are not being paid because of the issue of biometrics, is because they have not fulfilled certain obligations. Some of them that have not been paid are those that have not made themselves available for screening. The state needed to know how many workers we have. We needed to be sure of our workers. We needed to be sure that those who are paid are those who are working.
There are incidence of those earning salaries but nowhere to be found. They are probably abroad or other states. At the end of the month, they get alert. The government now feels there is need for us to know the number of workers under the state government payroll. So, we said make yourself available for screening and present credentials.
So, those who have not been paid are those who have not met the basic criteria. Some have issues with their BVN as BVN is an important issue in salary payment. Some have not turned out to be screened. We are insisting that as a responsible government, you should make yourself available to
You have not received your salary means you either have issues with your BVN or you have not presented yourself for the screening, that is not the problem of the government but yours. It may be because you have one or two hidden agenda somewhere.
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We understand there is plan of screening local government staff. How is it going?
Yes, let me enlighten you a bit, it’s in the best interest of the councils that their workers come for screening. It will also afford the local government authorities opportunity to know how many people are in their payroll.
Amaechi Udemba, media assistant to Delta state Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. He feels vindicated by the publication that Delta state government is not owing salaries
I will give you an instance. In Aniocha North local government council, I understand that the wage bill every month is N70million. On a surface, I don’t see the number of workers there that will warrant such a huge wage bill for a local government council. We now say let’s screen the local government workers to know those actually working.They appears to be very reluctant to do that.
They are reluctant because in times past, the issue of local government workers has some political attachment. Some give employment when there are no vacancies, don’t forget that before State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) came, local government teachers were paid directly from Abuja. The advent of SUBEB now changed the order. The money comes to the state through to the local government to pay their teachers.
Unlike before, they get their salaries from Abuja directly. That gave room to those who were in charge to manipulate the system. But since it has changed to SUBEB, the government is now saying let’s know the actual number of workers we are dealing with but there appears to be a little reluctance by some persons. That is what we are noticing.
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You are also aware that the last screening done by the state civil service commission, they recovered close to N2billion that is being paid to ghost workers, people not Deltans, people not coming to work at all. There are some people that are even abroad, they get alert at the end of the month. That is part of the thing we are trying to deal with.
What has the state government done to the people discovered to be fake or ghost workers from the screening exercise?
Yes, the governor is a very meticulous man, the report has been submitted. He is going through it. He has set up another committee to look into the report and identify those culpable. It is also important for us that not just to stop this thing but that the money is recovered.
So, that issue is being looked into seriously. The governor also wants to be sure that the report is thorough so that nobody will complain at the end that it wasn’t properly done.
At the end of it, a white paper will be released. Be rest assure that the government is not treating the issue with levity. The government is serious about it so that the money for Delta people is used for the people of Delta state.
In the ZENITHBLOG.com video below, friends and associates of Nnamdi Kanu are celebrating the pronouncement of his bail. Watch the video
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