We are owing workers only 5 months salaries, not 16 months - Bayelsa government insists

macfranc007 December 01, 2017 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Kess Ewubare

- The Bayelsa state government insists that its outstanding obligation to its workforce is four-and-a-half months

- The Cross River state government commences the payment of December salaries to workers in its workforce

The Bayelsa state government on Thursday, November 31, described the impression that it was owing workers between 10 and 16 months salary backlog as inaccurate.

It insisted that outstanding obligation to its workforce was four-and-a-half months.

The state government clarified the status of indebtedness to labour in a statement issued by the commissioner for Information, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

According to Mr Iworiso-Markson, the arrears of four and half months accumulated in 2016 due to a sharp drop in the revenue profile of the state, adding that following improvements in receipts from the federation account, the state has no outstanding salary in 2017 fiscal year.

It had been earlier reported that council workers across the eight local government areas, including primary school teachers, are being owed between 10 and 16 months salary backlog.

The deputy governor of the state, John Jonah, had on November 7 announced that the state government withheld the October 2017 salary of some 4, 200 workers in the local government system accused of involvement in payroll fraud.

John Ndiomu and Tari Dounana, chairmen of Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, respectively, had challenged the state government to provide evidence for its action and prosecute those indicted as the unions would not support illegality.

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The Bayelsa state government further said that it had nothing to do with the salary backlog in the councils as the local governments in Bayelsa enjoyed financial autonomy.

“As a matter of state policy, the Seriake Dickson administration does not tamper with local government allocations. This fact must be stressed because of the falsehood being peddled in some quarters that the state is owing local government workers.

“It is public knowledge that government is waging a war against an endemic payroll fraud in the civil service in Bayelsa," it said.

Meanwhile, the Cross River state government has commenced the payment of December salaries to workers in its workforce.

The government in a statement in Calabar on Thursday, November 30, by the senior special assistant to the governor on media, Christian Ita, said the governor’s decision is to enable workers make early purchases before the hike in food prices which usually accompanies the December periods.

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