The Nation Newspaper

Tag: salaries

  • LMC urged to negotiate salaries for players in premiership

    LMC urged to negotiate salaries for players in premiership

    A football buff, Igwe Onuoha, on Wednesday urged the League Management Company (LMC) to negotiate salaries for players in the Globacom Premier League with their clubs.

    Onuoha, the Media Officer of Abia Warriors FC of Umuahia, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia. He said the decision of the LMC to abolish sign-on fees by clubs in the nation’s top flight was a very good development that would rub-off positively on the game.

    “The LMC should not only abolish sign-on fees but come up with a decision that players in the premiership should not earn below a certain amount as salaries,’’ Onuoha said.

    He said if clubs were allowed to negotiate salaries with their employees, it would cause jealousy and rancour within the players’ ranks.

    “This is because no player believes another one is better than him and this can endanger the spirit of team work,” he said.

    He urged the LMC to also look at how clubs that were indebted to players paid their debts.

    “Players are owed billions of naira in the country and the LMC should help them recover their money before abolishing sign-on fees. Some of these players are the bread winners of their families no matter their age. You cannot owe them and expect them not to fail in their responsibilities to their families,” he said.

    Onuoha said the implementation of enhanced salaries for players in the league would encourage them to give their best. He added that the enhanced salaries for players would enable them veer into other businesses when they are no longer fit to play.

  • Finance ministry delays Keshi, others salaries

    Finance ministry delays Keshi, others salaries

    Frantic attempts by officials of the National Sports Commission(NSC) and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to pay all the national teams’ coaches their outstanding salaries suffered a setback due to administrative bottleneck in the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja.

    SportingLife gathered that a top official in the NSC spent hours in the finance ministry on Wednesday trying to get the voucher amounting to N200m, which was approved by President Goodluck Jonathan, following appeals to him by the sports minister, Bolaji Abdullahi to settle the bill.

    At the close of business in the finance ministry, the NSC chief left for the office to meet with NFF president, Aminu Maigari, where both men verified the amount due each of the coaches.

    SportingLife’s source reveals that the coaches will be paid on Tuesday next week insisting that: “We may have to settle the coaches’ pay from NSC’s subvention and then decuct at source, when we formally get the N200m that was approved by President Goodluck Jonathan.”

  • ‘Imo does not tamper with workers’ salaries’

    Imo State government says it is not making illegal deductions from salaries of civil servants in the state, especially teachers.

    The Accountant-General of the state,Mr Geore Eche, made the statement in Owerri while reacting to insinuations that unnecessary deductions were being made from salaries of workers in the state.

    Eche told journalists that his office made regular and timely issuance of cheques to workers and could not make deductions on such cheques.

    He explained that teachers’ salaries were pay-rolled at the State Universal Basic Education Board [SUBEB] and the Secondary Education Management Board [SEMB] for primary and secondary school teachers, respectively.

    “To the best of my knowledge, the deductions made are those approved and some of those inherited before we took over this function from SUBEB and SEMB,’’ he said.

    The accountant general said that investigations showed that some teachers were involved in the acquisition of capital assets and loans from financial institutions.

    Eche said that it was such deductions that were made in instalments from their salaries.

    He called on civil servants, especially teachers, who were affected by any form of deductions from their salaries to report to his office for further measures.

  • MDAs to use e-channels in salaries, pensions’ remittances

    MDAs to use e-channels in salaries, pensions’ remittances

    To address revenue leakages in the government and private sectors of the economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is encouraging ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to ensure salaries, pensions, suppliers and taxes payment are done with e-payment channels. The policy, however, applies to organisations with more than 50 employees.

    The CBN in a circular said the process will reduce time and costs of transactions, minimise leakages in government revenue receipts and provide reliable audit trails, thereby making the payments system comply with global standards.

    The is to save cost, promote transparency and accountability in governance and increase internally generated revenue (IGR). The e-payment policy is also expected to ensure confidentiality of information of e-payment of taxes, salary, pension and suppliers.

    It said, henceforth, payment instructions and associated schedules are no longer to be transmitted to banks by public and private sector organisations through unsecured channels such as paper-based mandates, flash drives, compact discs and email attachments, among others.

    The transactions must be routed through bank approved electronic platform which transmits the instruction to debit a payer’s account and credit a beneficiary’s bank account, mobile account, electronic wallet or any other electronic channels.

    It shall include the ability of a payer to independently monitor and obtain electronic feedback on the status of any payment, at any time without depending on any third party, manual or semi-manual means.

    Draft guidelines that will ratify the policy have been sent to commercial banks and payment service providers. The exercise is in line with its powers as provided in the CBN Act, 2007, Section 47, Sub-section 2(2d).

    It said the policy fully aligns with the core objectives of the National Payment Systems Vision 2020 (NPSV) which is to ensure the availability of safe and effective mechanisms for conveniently making and receiving all types of payments from any location and at any time through multiple channels.

    The CBN said all public and private sector organisations who maintain relationship with employees, pensioners, suppliers and taxpayers and other entities are considered as relevant stakeholders required to work together for the success of the policy.

  • Minister to NFF: Ensure clubs pay players’ backloged salaries

    Minister to NFF: Ensure clubs pay players’ backloged salaries

      •Wants defaulters barred from competitions

    The Honourable Minister of Sports and Chairman of the National Sports Commission, NSC Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, yesterday directed the Nigerian

    Football Federation, NFF to ensure that all football clubs participating in various football leagues in the country pay the backlogs of salaries owed players.

    According to him, teams that are unable or unwilling to pay should be barred from participating in the leagues as from next season.

    This was one of the outcomes of the meeting the Minister had with the Board members of the NFF, the League Management Company (LMC) and the

    Nigerian Women League. The meeting focused on the state of the leagues.

    A visibly angry Abdullahi said at the meeting, “ this has to stop. We cannot behave as if we live in a jungle. Every kobo owed the players must be paid. Players must have proper contracts.”

    He made these comments against the background of a news report about

    the FCT Queen of Abuja players who are owed 18months salaries and who, according to the report, have resorted to begging to make ends meet.

    Dilichukwu Onyedinma, the Chairperson of the Nigerian Women League and who incidentally is also Chairperson the FCT Queen, explained while making a presentation at the meeting that the players had not been paid because of bureaucratic bottlenecks.

    She however stated that the FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, had approved

    the salaries of the players but didn’t know why they had not been paid.

    Onyedinma disclosed that though the Nigerian Women League faced many challenges, it is making steady but slow progress. “ For the first time ever we have started the first Women Premier League in Nigeria,” she said.

    Nduka Irabor, the Chairman of the League Management Company, stated that the LMC is putting systems in place to ensure that clubs pay sufficient attention to the welfare of footballers. “ I have pictures of the living condition of some of our footballers, it is shameful and makes mockery of the professional league. It is no wonder that our players keep going overseas to seek greener pastures.”

    He however stated that the LMC was considering several measures to improve the welfare of footballers including implementing a minimum wage.

  • Ondo council workers, teachers lament non-payment of salaries

    Ondo council workers, teachers lament non-payment of salaries

    Local government workers and primary school teachers in Ondo State are aggrieved over the non-payment of their salaries.

    Sources said the government deliberately ordered the suspension of the local government workers’ salaries following the discovery of a large scale fraud in the councils. There was also report of illegal recruitment of workers in the local governments.

    To restore sanity, over 6,000 ghost workers were dismissed from the local governments and verification was carried out to know the legitimate workers.

    According to the sources, the sacked workers were allegedly recruited into the local government service illegally by the Caretaker Committee chairmen in the 18 councils since 2009.

    It was learnt that the recruitment of the junior officers from Grade Level 01-06 was done in 2009 without the approval of the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC].

    The successive caretaker chairmen were said to have found it difficult to cope with the over-bloated monthly wage bill.

    It was learnt that some newly-employed workers were said to have no genuine letters of employment, and some were issued letters signed by their chairmen without the approval of the commission.

    The sources said the ‘illegal’ recruitments were more pronounced shortly before last year’s governorship election.

    Investigation showed that the excess number of workers at the councils was the bane of its development, as the authority found it difficult to carry out projects. Their monthly allocations were mostly being spent on salaries and wages.

    Apparently disturbed by the development, Governor Olusegun Mimiko ordered for a probe of the recruitment in the 18 local governments.

    A seven-man committee was constituted and it recommended the displacement of 6,000 workers in the local government service.

    However, the state President of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Mr. Ayo Omoregie, has debunked the allegation of illegal recruitments in the councils, stressing that the screening by the state government was normal to know the population of workers in the 18 councils.

    Omoregie said about 70 per cent of the workers had been paid April salary, adding that the state government has directed the payment of outstanding arrears.

     

  • Ministry workers protest salaries’delay

    Ministry workers protest salaries’delay

    Workers of the Ministry of Science and Technology have protested poor welfare and non-payment of salaries to the newly employed junior workers in Abuja.

    Making their demand, Mr Shehu Yahaya, the chapter’s Chairman of the Nigeria Civil Service Union, said the way the management handled staff welfare was not encouraging.

    Yahaya said one of the grievances of the workers was that the ministry failed to carry the workers along while taking decisions about their welfare.

    “We are not saying the welfare must be sharing of money all the time, but there are many ways to tackle the welfare issues.

    “We have been agitating that whenever the issue of welfare will be discussed, we should be carried along, but such thing is not happening here.

    “The ministry must carry us along when deciding on our welfare,” Yahaya said.

    The union also protested the non-payment of about 105 junior workers, recruited and trained by the ministry.

    One of the junior staff members in Technical Department, who pleaded anonymity, told reporters that the ministry had stopped paying his salary since January.

    “I wrote an application letter and the ministry offered me an appointment.

    “I was paid for six months last year, but when the ministry employed another batch of junior workers, the payment was stopped in January.

    “The excuse was that no waiver was given for the appointment. I don’t know anything about waiver; my own is that I sought for job and I was given an appointment letter.

    The officer also complained that on October 10, the Human Resources Department introduced a verification exercise, where the new employees’ original appointment letters were collected from them.

    “We were pleading that they should return our appointment letters, but they refused and we heard that the waiver they were talking about is already out for 120 people,” he added.

    Some of the workers complained that they had been living on borrowing while two of their colleagues had died due to the lack of fund to take care of themselves.

    The Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Ita Ewa, who addressed the protesters, linked the poor welfare to low budgetary allocation to the ministry.

    “When you look at the budget frame you discover that the ministry has a limit in its operation and because of that you will bear with us as we drive the system,’’ Ewa said.

    He promised that whatever was given to the ministry would be released to run the ministry.

    Also speaking, Mrs Rabi Jimeta, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, said the workers were aware that the junior ones were employed without waiver.

    Jimeta said the ministry had taken necessary steps to correct the wrongs and assist the people involved.

    “My clear directive on that is that anybody that had been previously employed with the coming of this waiver should be retained.

    “But it is on the condition that he has got the pre-requisite qualifications for that post he is occupying.

    “The qualifications are clearly stated in the scheme of service. If you have those qualifications you don’t have problem, but if you don’t have those qualifications, there is no way we can assist,” Jimeta said.

     

     

     

  • Sharks players owed three-month salaries

    Sharks players owed three-month salaries

    • Signing-on fees too

    Players of Sharks FC of Port Harcourt have complained of not having received three months of salaries and signing-on fees for the 2011/2012 season.

    A source from the Garden City revealed to SportingLife that the players have been going through hard times since resuming camping last month in preparation for next season, a development which forced some notable players to part ways with the club.

    Some of the key players that have dumped the club are Victor Ezeji, Kola Anubi, Okemute Udah and Usmane Pape. Others are Thankgod Ahamefule and Chidiebere Okoli.

    “The state of things in Sharks is very bad. We are approaching a new season and the players are complaining of wages. Even, as at now the players are yet to receive their signing-on fees for last season let alone the new season,” a club fan, who claimed to be the team’s supporter since 1996, told SportingLife.

    He added: “Things are not done that way. The boys have been training on empty stomachs and because of this all the key players have left the club for another team. If a team like Sharks are beginning to lose their notable players it means the club will start all over again. We don’t know what the management under General Manager, Okey Kavaluku is doing about this because we don’t want our team in disarray.”

  • Union seeks payment of outstanding NITEL workers’ salaries

    The Senior Staff Association of Communication, Transport and Corporation (SSACTAC) has asked the Federal Government to pay Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) workers their outstanding 11-month salaries.

    In a communiqué signed by its President, Mr Adetunji Adesunkanmi and General Secretary, Mr Chile Ekeke, at the end of its National Executive Council meeting, the group said many of those associated with telecoms firm were unimpressed with government’s attempt to privatise it.

    It said the privatisation had not impacted positively on NITEL’s operations.

    It appealed to the Federal Government to conclude NITEL’s privatisation, adding: “Government should take the privatisation exercise seriously”.

    Besides, the communiqué expressed worries over fuel shortage, insecurity and the state of the nation

    It condemned the continued fuel scarcity in the country, asying it affects the movement of people, goods and services, as well as, increasing cost of living and making inflation to go up.

    It pointed out the need to address the challenges of insecurity.

    “The session notes with great concern the high level of insecurity in the country, which discourages investment, growth and development.

    “We, therefore, urge the Federal Government to brace by nipping in the bud these senseless killings, kidnapping, armed robbery and political assassination being perpetrated against innocent Nigerians.”

    It commended the prompt interventionist strategies used by the government and some relief agencies to address the flood disaster in the country.

    It recommended the establishment of an environmental impact assessment committee at all tiers of government to guard against future occurence.

  • Lawmakers flee as Plateau workers protest unpaid salaries

    Members of the Plateau State House of Assembly and commissioners yesterday abandoned their offices to avoid the wrath of protesting local government workers.

    Workers from Jos North and Jos South Local Governments besieged the Assembly complex and the state secretariat, protesting their unpaid five months’ salaries.

    The Jonah Jang administration is insisting on “no work, no pay” to compel the workers to return to their duty posts.

    It was learnt that some lawmakers, including Speaker John Clark Dabwan, reportedly locked themselves in their conveniences to escape the angry workers.

    The commissioners and political appointees reportedly abandoned their offices when they got wind of the workers’ protest.

    However, the Press Secretary to Speaker, Nandak Shinle, said the lawmakers did not scale the fence.

    She also said the Assembly was not in session when the workers entered the complex.

    Five labour unions, including the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), are protesting five months of unpaid salaries and the “no work, no pay” policy of the Jang administration.

    The workers wore black dresses when they stormed the Assembly noon.