Most of the 15 local government areas in Niger State were confident that they would survive with allocations from the federal purse when the agitation for the abolishment of the joint account system in state began inSeptember2020. Today, it is a different story as none of them appears to have anticipated the hardship they have experienced four months after the state government agreed on local government autonomy. The different local government councils have since resorted to payment of salaries on percentage basis with some workers, especially teachers, going home with as little as 22 per cent of their monthly pay. JUSTINA ASISHANA reports that no local government worker in the state can boast to have received up to 65 per cent of their salaries in the last three months.
Ibrahim Isah, an employee of a local government in Niger State, has not received a salary above 32 per cent in the past five months; a sum he said is a far cry from what he needs to carter for his family needs.
“What will a monthly take home is between N20,000 and N25,000 do for my family,” he asked as he lamented his plight and that of other local government workers in the state. “It has not been easy at all. The government is not trying for us in any way.”
His claims were echoed by Ishaku Shaba, another member of the staff of a local government in the state, who said that life has not been easy for him since he was being paid a percentage of his monthly salary. In the past four months, he said, he had been collecting only 25 per cent of his salary. He therefore called on the government to intervene before the matter gets out of hand.
Maryam Abadallah on her part noted that the days were gone when local government workers received their salaries with smiles.
“These days, workers are afraid to open their phones when they get salary alerts, because they are scared to see what they have been paid,” she said.
“Before, whenever we received our salaries, we were very happy. But now, we have to pray before we open the message, hoping that the percentage cut off will be reasonable.
“The government has to do something about this because we are no longer finding it funny. We have people to cater for. We have children to send to school.
“This is not good at all. They have turned local government workers into beggars.”
Hajara Musa has had to sell some of her gold and wrappers to enable her to pay the second term school fees of her children because she has only been receiving a paltry N15,000 as salary in the last five months.
She told our correspondent that she was already contemplating dropping her children from the private school they attend since she does not know when her salary would become normal.
She said: “I am not sure I can continue like this. Who knows how many of my clothes and gold that I would sell?
“I pray the government will address this issue before it gets worse.
“We have never had it this bad as staff of the local government area. We need help.”
Teachers down tools over percentage salaries
Since schools resumed nationwide about five weeks ago, pupils in public schools across the state have not gone to school as teachers who receive their salaries from local government councils embarked on indefinite strike on account of percentage salary payments.
The Niger State Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) had warned when schools closed in 2020 that the primary school teachers in the state would not resume the following January if December Salaries were paid on percentage basis.
The Niger State Chairman of NUT, Comrade Akayago Adamu Mohammed, had stressed that primary school teachers would no longer accept percentage pays.
Payment of salaries on percentage basis, he said, was against the labour law, noting that there is nọ clause in the labour law that says salaries should be paid on percentage by government at any level.
On the January 10 when schools resumed across the state, public school teachers were directed by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) to sit at home indefinitely until the state government addressed the issue of percentage payment of salaries.
A letter jointly signed by the Chachanga NUT branch Chairman, Muhammad Ibrahim Khaliel and the Branch Secretary, Comrade Jimada Abubakar Yusuf titled ‘Sit at Home’ stated that the Union would not allow the government to continue to take teachers for granted by continuously paying them a percentage of their salaries.
The letter reads: “Consequent upon the continuous payment of teachers’ salaries in percentage, you are hereby directed to shun the resumption date and remain at home indefinitely.
“The Union shall remain resolute in the fight to better the welfare of its members.
“We encourage you to go about your lawful activities and await further directives from the Union.”
The trend was followed by other branches of NUT across the state with teachers expressing their frustration at being unable to meet the needs of their families because their salaries were being paid in percentage.
One of the teachers, Umar Kutigi, said the NUT was right in asking all teachers to stay at home as the teachers did not sign any agreement for salaries to be paid in percentages. He said there was also no meeting called to inform the teachers that their salaries would be paid in percentages.
“No resumption until we see the January salaries. If we see them in percentage, the sit at home shall continue,” he said.
Another teacher, Ummi Amira, said it was better for her to stay at home and do some business than go to work only to be paid virtually nothing at the end of the month. She said she was among the first set of workers who welcomed the strike action.
Controversy over payment of salaries by purported positive LGAs
Some local government chairmen who who had boasted of their ability to pay the full salaries of their employees after the abolition of joint accounts have started paying their staff on percentage basis after making good their pledge initially.
For instance, Suleja Local Government Council joined the bandwagon after paying full salaries once. A political office holder, who pleaded anonymity, said the council chairman had informed them that the supervising ministry, Niger State Ministry for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Internal Security, had deducted N15 million each from the federal allocations of all local governments for the supply of rice in December 2021 which was the reason for the payment of 70 per cent salary to Suleja Local Government workers.
In December 2021, some workers in the local government area had told our correspondent that the Chairman informed them that the Ministry of Local Govern ment had deducted N15 million each from the federal allocations to all local government areas in the state for the supply of rice to the council.
However, this was denied by some local government chairmen as they said that it was only 200 bags of rice that were supplied at N23,000 each, and since it was optional, many local government areas did not collect it.
The Chairman of Tafa Local Government, Ibrahim Mami, however said there had been nothing like percentage payment of salaries in the local government, adding that he has been paying his staff 100 per cent since the abolition of joint accounts.
He said: “There is nothing like that. From the month the money was sent to us to pay salaries by ourselves, I have always paid 100 per cent salaries to my staff.
“No deduction anywhere except the statutory deduction which is backed by law.” Suleja Local Government Area, Abbas Hamza, disclosed that the wage bill of workers in the local government area was about N400 million.
Avoiding the issue of deduction of money for rice or other expenditure, Hamza said that the council had come to realise that even with the autonomy, most of the local governments that thought they could pay salaries without hitch were now affected, adding that the sum that comes in from the federal allocation account fluctuates.
He said: “The hardship is faced by everyone. Even we as councillors are affected.
“We thought we would not be affected but now we are because there are other issues.
“But we are bearing the consequences because we are the ones who fought for autonomy. “For about 15 months, some of us have not been paid some of our allowances. Even our salary is paid in percentage.”
In Lapai Local Government Area, the workers are questioning the Chairman, Mu’azu Hamidu Jantabo, on why he should buy 17 new cars for his council members while he had not paid the salaries of the council staff and pensioners for 16 months.
Many of the staff who spoke to with our correspondent lamented that they could not pay their children’s school fees while others said they had withdrawn their children from private schools to public schools because they could no longer afford the school fees.
Some of the workers alleged that the Chairman had procured loans worth millions of naira but did not use any of it to pay outstanding salaries while others wondered how the loans would be repaid after he must have left office.
The Niger State Commissioner of Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Internal Security, Hon. Emmanuel Umar, denied the allegations regarding the removal of money from the sums given to local government areas, saying that the ministry does not control the federal allocation account or the money given to the local government councils.
January 2022 salaries still paid on percentage
The salaries of local government employees started trickling in last week and many of them were shocked that the percentage payment of salaries continued into the new year.
While local governments like Mokwa, Rafi, Tafa and Gurara paid 100 per cent salaries, Chachanga paid 32 per cent, Shiroro 65 per cent while seven local government areas paid N10,900 flat as staff salaries.
The Speaker of Suleja Legislative Council said the solution to the problem may be government intervening by augmenting the funds whenever there is a shortfall.
“Despite this difficulty, I don’t support joint accounts. This is because each month, the Ministry will borrow money with interest and we will be doing more harm than good if we go back to the joint account system,” he said.
Primary school teachers’ continued stay at home has been of concern to the legislators at the Niger State House of Assembly, who are saying that if local government autonomy cannot be maintained, the state government should revert to the era of joint account.
The Member representing Bosso Constituency, Abdulmalik Madaki Bosso, said percentage payments by local government is not constitutional, noting that the strike is affecting the future of the children in the state who have been at home for about two months without any hope of their schools reopening.
He noted that the percentage payments had also affected other administrative staff of local government councils and had grounded activities at local government levels.
After all deliberations, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Barrister Abdullahi Bawa, who read the resolutions, said that the government should revert to joint budget or risk the house not approving the 2023 local government budget if it fails to comply with the directives of the Assembly.