The Federal Government has provided N3 billion to clear workers’ salary arrears in Abia State but the state has said it needs N3 billion more to offset the outstanding wage bill.
The state said, however, that with the bailout cash provided, it would soon start paying the arrears.
The state government said that it will look inwards with its internally generated revenue to make up the shortfall to enable it clear the salary backlog.
Speaking with The Nation in Umuahia the Senior Special Adviser to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu on Media, Mr. Ugochukwu Emezue, said that the government is current with the payment of salary from the time Ikpeazu assumed office.
Emezue explained that workers who have not received their May salary were being delayed by the current verification exercise going on in the state’s work force to fish out ghost workers.
He said that those who have done their verification exercise have already received their May salary and will soon get their June pay while waiting for the salary arrears for those who are being owed to be cleared.
Emezue dismissed rumours making the rounds in some quarters that Governor Ikpeazu was not ready to pay the arrears of salary owed Abia workers.
He said, “The government has received the bailout fund; it is in the neighbourhood of N3 billion; we need about N6 billion to clear the arrears which we are going to clear in no distant time.
The money is here with us though it is not enough looking at our wage bill debt, but Governor Ikpeazu is looking inwards to augment the money and clear the salary arrears”.
The Abia governor’s media aid said that the governor has made it clear that he will clear all salary arrears, but will be done after clearing the current salary of workers from June and gradually clear the backlog.
Emezue said, “Current salaries are being paid, though some agencies have not received theirs and it is because government is carrying out workers verification to fish out ghost workers.
The workers that have not completed the verification exercise are those who have not received their current salaries, those who have done theirs have since received their current salaries.
Those who have completed their verification exercise will continue to receive their salaries; Government will by then know clearly who the genuine workers in its payroll are.”
The Nation observed that part of the problem facing the government in clearing the salary arrears is the issue of ghost workers who were planted in the government payroll by top government officials, including past commissioners, permanent secretaries, council chairmen and chairmen of boards.
Ikpeazu during a media chat vowed to fish out ghost workers and those who planted them and bring them to book.
Emezue said, “Governor Okezie has vowed not to owe genuine workers and also demands cooperation of the workers in this direction so that those who are genuine workers will get their pay as at when due, the governor will not owe any genuine worker.”
He urged the workers who have not done the verification to do it and begin to get their salaries, pointing out that the Governor wants to build a civil service that is proactive, dynamic and compliant.
The governor’s media aid also urged the workers to ignore the rumour that Ikpeazu would not pay the arrears, saying that the Government will pay the arrears of all Abia workers.