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Sequel to the announcement from the stable of the ebullient Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of his readiness to clear the backlog of salaries at most by the end of month of July of some workers mostly affected such as some parastatals, secondary and primary school teachers, pensioners etc, it became very necessary to remind the public of the stance of the State Government on payment of salaries.
GAP IN SALARY PAYMENT
It is imperative to trace the root cause of the gap created in payments.
Primarily, upon assumption of the present government in 2015, the price of crude oil in the international market nosedived. At some point, the price of crude per barrel went to an all time low of about $30 per barrel. Nigeria, as one of the crude oil economy dependent countries which had predicated its 2015 benchmark at $150 per barrel of sales was a worse hit.
Secondly, the hostility renewed in the Niger-Delta region in that year contributed to a large extent, the low production and sales of the mono-economy (crude oil) by the Nigerian government. These therefore affected the receipts of every States in Nigeria. This plunged our federal monthly accruable from averagely N5b per month during early 2015 to averagely N1.8b in the later part of that year occasioned by the steep in finances at the center.
STATE MONTHLY WAGE BILL
The State monthly wage bill stood at averagely N3b. It then became a near impossibility to service a monthly wage bill of about N3b with averagely N1.8b, which coalesced to the gap in meeting the salary obligation of these affected workers.
BAILOUT FUND
Having understood the pressure on State Governments, the federal government demanded that States submitted the records of their financial indebtedness with regards to salaries and the likes; pensions, gratuity etc. Abia’s liabilities stood at about N32b and was properly submitted to the Federal Government’s for action. After putting all the issues into perspective by the federal government, Abia was given the sum of N14.2b. On the receipt of this fund, the State Government constituted a committee made up of the executives of the labour leaders in the State to administer the funds to appropriate need areas devoid of government’s interference in their decision making.
The committee included; the executives of State NLC, TUC, NUT, NULGE, Joint Negotiating Council, National Association of Pensions which sat and made the whole decisions on who-gets-what from the fund while the State government carried out their recommendations. The funds were equitably and judiciously administered to the admiration of the ICPC and even the umbrella bodies of these unions. However, it should be noted that ‘bailout’ was never a free money given to the States as it had conditions attached to it. The principal sum was meant to be deducted from source on agreed percentage and within a specified timeframe.
PARIS FUND
The first tranche of the Paris refund to Abia State amounted to N10.6b with a sterling instruction by the FG to utilize at least 50% of the fund to pay to defray the outstanding workers wages. The Governor of Abia State graciously approved more N600m to augment the 50% of the fund which was N5.3b. At the end, Abia had about N5.8b to remit to the beneficiaries. The committee was reactivated and the cash was distributed according to the instructions and recommendations of the committee.
PENSIONS
Pension was originally being administered by the 19 sub-treasuries with lots of human errors. The pension was rightly harmonized and today, payment of pensions (pensioners) is being handled by a central data system. This has reduced human errors and sharp practices as inherent hitherto. Through the system, every pensioner is paid simultaneously.
As at the month of June, 2017, pensioners in the State pension’s scheme have received their 2016, October pensions while their LGA counterparts also gotten their November pensions benefits.
N:B. Any contrary publication or stance in this regard is either false or a calculated attempt to malign Abia State government’s hard earned reputation.
BACKLOG REOCCURRENCE
Practically, the Abia State got the receipts of intervention funds from the federal government in the form of bailouts and Paris clubs refund as such it was used to clear some months arrears but the onus was that our statutory monthly allocations was grossly inadequate to cater for the monthly emolument of all workers concurrently, as such there still arose issues of backlog.
Howbeit, this does not mean inauspicious. Cheeringly, subsequent funds expected to drop shortly will be used to update salary payment as the State is also very hopeful of increased and stabilized inflow of finances both independently to run the government.
WAGE BILL REDUCTION
Prior to this present administration, salaries were being paid manually. The implication among others is discrepancies and non uniformity in salary packages of same cadre civil servants as a result of human errors and sharp practices. There were also issues of padding of salaries. The government therefore harmonized the system and brought it to a central data management as payments were automated.
The government also had conducted a biometric and payroll data capture which culminated in the fishing out of ‘unidentifiable’ staff. As the end, huge sum of monies that would have gone into those pockets of unidentified person were blocked through the above mentioned exercises with a hopeful injection of genuine persons; graduates and professionals who needs jobs most.
GOVERNANCE AS A CALL TO SERVICE
The narrative have changed. Governance is now perceived as a call to service than a means to amass wealth through sharing of our common wealth among a select few. The government has made a significant monthly 60% reduction of over-head cost, State excos inclusive.
State political appointees receives their pay-packs alongside State civil servants unlike in the past when political office holders was accorded preferential treatment. These are some of the sacrifices being made by the crop of leadership in Abia presently afloat.
INDEPENDENT REVENUES
With the harmonization and streamlined processes put in place in Abia State revenue channels, most of the leakages are being blocked. This gave rise to the shoring up of monies into the IGR basket from averagely N500m as at 2015 to about N1b monthly currently most of which are judicially used to fund project implementation in Abia.
INFRASTRUCTURAL REVOLUTION IN ABIA
While Abia State government have continued to strive in striking a balance between meeting workers salary obligations and funding capital projects nay, infrastructural rebirth, a shift from yesteryears greater emphasis on financial profligacy, a situation that stalled our development and the attendant economic paralysis of the yesteryears.
Today, Abia State has embarked on aggressive construction of over 70 roads across the length and breath of the State while about 40 are being completed which is to the benefit of majority of Abians including the workers. This is a quantum leap into improving the IGR of the State as people tend to pay up their obligations when they see their monies judiciously being utilized to their demands and expectations.
COMING OUT OF THE WOODS
One of the cardinal projections of the present government is to ensure financial independent of its citizenry by way of supporting the high level of ingenuity and enterprise inherent in them. Aba as one of the cities in Abia is highly populated with persons of proven ingenious inclinations as such the government of the day marshal out programmes to support them to attain the highest point in their profession with most ingenious citizens; artisans and local content producers.
Hence, initiatives like the ones below and many others were tailored to catapult them to the peak of Their crafts;
(a). Education for Employment (E4E) designed to educate Abians, mostly the youths on modern technics and vocational training to enable them acquire the necessary skills for wealth creation.
(b). Designed and building clusters for leather and garment producers with sophisticated and state-of-art machines to enable more production.
(c). Concluded plans on training of over 100 Abia youths in China to acquire the much needed skills on modern leather production to the world class standard.
(d). Last week, Abia State Government disbursed the sum of N100m to the SEEDC graduates. One of the fruits of the programmes is that the graduates are doing pretty well in their chosen fields. For instance, one of youths who underwent the training had already employed over 300 persons in his farm while another is running a very profiting bakery in the State.
The multiplier effect will include capturing and engaging more productive youths into being gainfully employed. Also, these will fortuitously shift the interest of the masses on the sole dependence of white collar jobs which may not be readily available at all time to accommodate the army of unemployed, rather ensure that average Abian is comfortable and basically self employed.
TOWARDS OFFSETTING THE BILLS
The Abia State government’s financial responsibilities include but not limited to ensuring the welfare of the State’s workforce. In a recent chat with newsmen, Mr. Obinna Oriaku, State commissioner of finance noted that government was exploring options to ensure regular payment of salaries to avoid reoccurrence of blacklog of workers’ entitlements.
Mr. Oriaku explained that the already existing committee made of chairmen of various unions such as Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Nigerian Union of Pensioners, Nigerian Union of Teachers among others which had been involved in the administration of such funds in the past namely, the bailout, and the first tranche of the Paris Club refund will be reactivated to carry out the obligation of the disbursement of the second tranche of the Paris fund to ensure transparency.
The Commissioner listed those expected to benefit from the fund to include, State and local government pensioners, parastatals, primary and secondary school teachers, local government staff and workers in Ministries Departments and Agencies.
It is therefore expedient for the masses to increase the tempo of their support for the government of the day, through prayers and performance of their civic duties. More so, as the present Governor Ikpeazu’s government is poised and unrelenting in putting beams of smiles in the faces of all Abians, let us join hands like Langston Hughes to move the State to the Eldorado.
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