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Tag: owe

  • 35 states owe workers’ salaries, says TUC

    35 states owe workers’ salaries, says TUC

    The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has raised the alarm that the number of states owing workers’ wages has increased to 35.

    Its President, Bobboi Kaigama, who made this known to reporters after the congress’ National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Lagos, said only Lagos State was up-to-date on salary payment and other benefits.

    It warned state governments against diverting money meant for workers’ salaries and other benefits into electioneering expenditure.

    Kaigama said, with the exception of Lagos, every other state in Nigeria owed one form of benefit or the other, including salaries, despite the Federal Government’s bailout and Paris Club refunds.

    He said: “We want to say without fear of contradiction that the only healthy state in this country that has no arrears of salaries and other wages or unpaid benefits is Lagos State. All the other states have one issue or the other in terms of salaries, wages or benefits of their workers that have not been paid. There is no exception.

    “You will find out that, if it is not one month’s salary that is not paid, it would be 13 months of gratuities or pensions that have not been paid. Or that contributory pension deductions are not being remitted or that there are certain promotion arrears and death benefits that have not been paid. So, I am telling you, taking this issue holistically, we can only say Lagos State is the only healthy state in this country.”

    The TUC leader added: “We keep saying that, if state governors cannot meet their obligations to their workers, they should just resign and leave the stage. We have continued to argue that, apart from the first generation states that were created by the military, there is no state that was created thereafter that did not have its submission that the state had the capacity to pay the wages of the workers in the state and other things. Ours is that probably those who are saying that we should go back to regional government are not misplaced because the trust we have in state government has been eroded. So, if it is just for the purposes of payment of salaries, no other developmental issues like infrastructure, health facilities, roads, rails transportation and so on, we are better off with regional government.

    On the ability of states owing the existing N18,000 minimum wage to pay a new minimum wage expected to be higher than the present one, Kaigama said it was corruption that made governors to owe workers.

  • Taraba governor: I don’t owe genuine workers

    Taraba governor: I don’t owe genuine workers

    Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku has said he is up to date in the payment of workers’salaries.

    He spoke yesterday through the Permanent Secretary of the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Bello Yero, at an interactive forum tagged: “Face the Press”.

    Ishaku, who said his administration is passionate about workers’ salaries, especially local government workers, noted that the government, though constrained by acute paucity of funds, is determined to ensure that workers get their salaries promptly.

    He maintained that those complaining were either ghost workers or those with Bank Verification Number (BVN) problems, or mishmash of account names.

    “Let me say, for the avoidance of doubt, that the government is committed to the payment of workers’ salaries, especially local government workers, who are often the most neglected.

    “We are all aware of the financial challenges confronting the country and states. This translates to low inflow for the state while the IGR remains rather very low.

    “In the face of all these, we are doing everything possible to ensure workers get their salaries, except those who have issues of verification, and which will be resolved soon,” Yero said.

    He urged the people to support the government to check the rot in the civil service to a tolerable level and be bold enough to report any suspected anomaly to relevant authorities.

  • Operators owe NIMASA $420.5m, says Peterside

    Operators owe NIMASA $420.5m, says Peterside

    The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), is being owed about $420.5 million, by some maritime operators, the Director-General, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has said.

    Peterside who made this known during an engagement with the House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration in Abuja yesterday, also refuted claims that the Agency was owed monies in excess of $10 billion. He said it was not correct given that the freight element of shipping trade in the last four years was not up to $10billion.

    The Head, Corporate Communications of NIMASA,  Lami Tumaka quoted  Peterside as saying that the entire freight element of shipping trade in Nigeria in the last four years is less than $10billion.

    In response to a petition received by the Committee purporting that the Agency had engaged a consultant to assist in recovering its money without following due process, the D-G told the Committee that due process was followed in selecting the Consultant as the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) had also issued a Certificate of No Objection for the purpose.

    Dr Peterside who noted that the Agency has been making efforts to recover these monies with little success also said this necessitated the management, utilising international best practices, to employ the services of a consultant to assist in recovering the funds.

    NIMASA had engaged the services of Messrs Snecou Financial Services Company Limited to assist in recovering debts owed NIMASA which are put at $420.5million with the aim of channeling the funds into developing critical infrastructure as well as knowledgeable manpower for the maritime industry.

    He said the debt in question covered the four year period upto 2014.

  • Ex-Egbin Power chief: MDAs, others owe DisCos N80b

    Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the military owe the electricity power distribution companies (DisCos) over N80billion, the former Managing Director, Egbin Power Plc, Michael Uzoigwe, has said.

    Uzoigwe, who is Group Leader, Generation, Sahara Group, said the Army, Navy and Airforce are the major debtors.

    He urged the DisCos to collect their money to stay in business, adding that failure of the firms to recover the debts would further affect their operations.

    Uzoigwe, who delivered a paper entitled: ‘The present state of the privatised electricity business in Nigeria’ at the On-Grid Energy Summit organised by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Lagos, said electricity generation and distribution is a serious business and that no firm is ready to run its business at a loss.

    According to him, the federal agencies and ministries that were owing the firms needed not complain of power failure, arguing that it was not normal for the DisCos to provide electricity to customers, who pay their bills promptly.

    Uzoigwe said military and police maltreat officials of power firms on debt-recovery duties, which he described as unfortunate.

    He said: “The Ministries, Departments and Agencies owe the DisCos N80billion in form of bills and other charges. Anywhere I can say N80billion is being owed the energy distribution companies by the government agencies and others and I ‘m ready to defend it. Whenever we send our boys to recover debts owed the DisCos, the debtors use police to maltreat them. They lock the boys up.

    “As a distributor, what business do I have supplying power to Army or Navy barracks that refused to pay their bills? Such debtors need not complain if they are denied electricity supply. As a matter of fact, it does not make economic sense to continue to serve debtors that appear unrepentant.

    “The power distribution companies have kilowatts of electricity they supply a given area or location within a period. If a DisCos supplies, for example, Surulere 70 kilowatts of power out of 100 kilowatts budgeted for the area in a month and the residents pay for the 70 kilowatts. What is going to happen to the remaining 30 kilowatts? The firm cannot return the remaining 30 kilowatts. But it is a good decision if the DisCos supply an industrial layout that do not only consume the 100 kilowatts, but pay for the power.’’

    Uzoigwe likened the problems in the sector to a recurrent decimal, which comes up always, stressing that what people see outside the power industry is not the true picture of the happenings inside it.

    He explained that many of the critical problems plaguing the sector were hidden, because they are not known to many Nigerians.

    Uzoigwe accused Nigerians of playing what he described as a ‘blaming game’, arguing that they apportion blames wrongly.

    He said lack of practical experience about the power industry, on the part of some government officials, especially politicians, is the bane of the industry, arguing that  only theorists were appointed to head critical units.

    He urged Nigerians to report any act of vandalism to the police and other security agencies, noting that everybody has a role to play, if the sector would grow to a level where there would be energy sufficiency.

    He said failure of people to report cases such as destruction  of transformers,  cables,  poles, meters and others, they are adding more to the problems in the sector.

    He said bypassing of meters is a serious offence, adding that such  cases abound in Lagos  and other states in the country.

  • Fed Govt, states owe contractors N600b

    Fed Govt, states owe contractors N600b

    Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI) President Mr. Solomon Ogunbusola yesterday alleged that federal and state governments owed his members over N600 billion.

    He said the refusal by governments at the two tiers to pay the debts was affecting the construction industry, adding that no payment had been received from the Federal Government since August 2014.

    Ogunbusola, who said the Federal Government owed over N300 billion, added that states from the Southeast geopolitical zone were the most indebted. He said the debts were for projects executed and certified by the governments.

    The FOCI president, who represents over hundred members in Nigeria and serves the interest of local and foreign construction firms, told reporters in Abuja that over 80 per cent of construction workers had been sacked in the last six months.

    He blamed it on the refusal of the governments to award contracts and engage in talks with construction companies.

    Ogunbusola said: “We are meeting because we have challenges that are beyond us. For over one year, we have not received anything from the government since August last year. No capital funds have been released.

    “We have written to the President and have made noise about it. We are not unaware of the difficulties we are facing in the economy. If the Federal Government can rescue states to pay salaries, they should not behave as if they are not aware of Nigerians in the construction sector. Construction companies have sacked over 80 per cent of their workforce.

    “We are only servicing only 20 per cent. We are not working. The banks are not helping matters in our issue. We took loans and there are interest rates to pay.

    “Since last year that we received the last payment, the interests have doubled. The government must look into the situation and see how construction workers can be assisted.

    “There are some of our members that have executed jobs for state governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and they have not been paid for two years. It does not show any good sign of governance.”

    He urged the incoming minister of Works to look at some of the projects completed so that his members can be paid.

    Ogunbusola noted that the country’s roads are in bad conditions and appealed to the federal and state governments to pay contractors so that they could go back to sites.

    “Political awards of contracts must also stop. Government must give contracts to people who can do the job. Many so-called big construction firms are at the verge of folding up because of lack of finance.

    “Going forward, the government should only give out contracts they can pay for to avoid what we are going through right now,” he said.

  • Pay me my money

    Pay me my money

    •Says Uyo club owe him 3.5m and 3-month salary

    Nembe City returnee striker, Okikimusampa Onomuefe has said he could no longer harbour his feelings over the treatment meted to him by the management of Akwa United over the non-payment of his signing-on fee at the start of the 2013-2014 season as agreed.

    Onomuefe joined Akwa United at the start of the 2013-2014 season but left the club to rejoin his former club at the beginning of the second stanza.

    The former Kano Pillars ace alleged that the Promise Keepers failed to pay him 3.5million naira sign-on fee and three months salaries as promised.

    Onomuefe has so far made three appearances for Nembe City since his returned to the team with one goal to his credit in a game against Rangers on Matchday 21 at the Krisdera Hotel Stadium.

    He stressed that all efforts made to collect the money have been proved abortive, adding that the club chairman has refused to pick his call again.

    “It obvious they don’t want to pay me my sign-on fee which is 3.5million naira and three months salaries,” Okikimusampa told sportinglife.

  • Ship owners owe banks over $3b

    Ship owners owe banks over $3b

    Members of the Nigerian Ship Owners Association (NISA) said they are not happy over the new Cabotage waiver policy being introduced by the government as many of their members are already owing Nigerian banks over $3 billion with 50 per cent of them out of business because of bad government policies.

    NISA Chairman , Chief Isaac Jolapamo disclosed this at a forum organised by the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar to announce the new government policy guidelines for granting of ministerial waivers under the Cabotage Law.

    The new policy, Umar said, is a means of discouraging ship owners engaging foreign crew to man Cabotage vessels coming to the country.

    But in his reaction to the new policy, Jolapamo pointed out that issuing a new guideline is not the priority to local ship owners and called for the abolition of the waivers that have led to foreign domination of the nation’s costal trade and in- debtedness of his members.

    He criticised President Goodluck Jonathan administration for not having any plans for the maritime sector.

    “The stakeholders already know that maritime development is not on the agenda of the present administration, the bottom line here is that a law that has been around for 10 years and it’s not working, the guideline is not a priority, our priority today is a maritime reform that will show that this government is sincere in developing the sector.”

    “The aviation sector is not as important as the shipping sector, yet they are given every attention”

    Jolapamo demanded that government sets up a task force or maritime sector reform that will not talk of granting waivers after 10 years, but work for the removal of the waiver clause.

    “If we continue to have the waiver, we will continue to have the same problem. Today, our members have in excess of $3billion as bad debts in Nigerian banks alone, 50 percent of us are out of business, we need to go back, for some of us to keep standing, you need to do more” he told the minister.

    But contrary to what obtains before the new policy, the government said any ship that needs a waiver must have applied for it sixty days before the arrival of the vessel on the nation’s territorial waters.

    Apart from the compulsory payment of the two per cent Cabotage contract surcharge, the new guideline also stressed the mandatory employment, training and utilization of Nigerian Seafarers, as well as the maintenance and repair of vessel in Nigeria during the period covered by the waiver.

    Presenting the new policy guidelines to maritime stakeholders in Lagos, the minister said that it was an effort by the Federal Government to protect local seafarers against foreign domination by correcting the anomalies in the Cabotage Law, as regards the powers of the minister in granting the waivers.