The Minister of Finance Okonjo-Iweala,
release a statement through her Special Adviser, Paul Nwabuikwu he said the
governors of states that did not pay workers should be blamed for the
development in their states because they were told through the Federation
Accounts Allocation Committee to make the issue of wage a priority.
She explained that despite the 50 per cent drop in gross federally collectible revenue, the Federal Government had made the issue of workers’ salaries a top priority in order to ensure that the “people do not feel the negative impact of the revenue drop on the economy.”
She explained that despite the 50 per cent drop in gross federally collectible revenue, the Federal Government had made the issue of workers’ salaries a top priority in order to ensure that the “people do not feel the negative impact of the revenue drop on the economy.”
For instance, the minister
said that contrary to the “misinformation being put forward by certain
governors to the effect that federal workers are being owed, staff salaries at
the Federal level are up-to-date.”
She said in the five
paragraph statement that the states, being one of the three tiers of government
that receive monthly allocations from the Federation Account, should be blamed
for their predicament.
The statement read, “This
is to clarify the misinformation put forward by certain governors to the effect
that Federal workers are being owed salaries.
“This is incorrect. Staff
salaries at the Federal level are up-to-date; workers have received their April
salaries.
“Regarding difficulties in
salary payments, certain governors are trying to blame the Federal Government
for their predicament. This is wrong. They had been told through the FAAC to
prioritise salaries but they chose not to do so, hence the backlog that some
states are experiencing.
“The 50 per cent drop in
revenues simply means that salaries should be prioritised. The Federal Government should not be blamed
for avoidable mistakes made at the state level.”
The APC governors had during a meeting with the
President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, in Abuja on Tuesday, expressed frustrations
about their inability to pay workers’ salaries.
They therefore appealed to
Buhari to consider a bailout plan for all the 36 state governments after his
inauguration on May 29.
Vanguard
Some Gov don chop d money.
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