STATE GOVERNORS OWING SALARIES

PLATEAU STATE In Plateau State, under Jonah Jang, workers are currently owed three months of pay.

 ONDO STATE In Ondo State, Governor Olusegun Mimiko has also failed to pay secondary school teachers and other categories of workers for the last three months.

BENUE STATE In Benue State, workers have been at a longstanding confrontation with the governor, Gabriel Suswam, who has yet to pay them for months.


 ABIA STATE In Abia State, led by Theordore Orji, beside secondary school teachers who were last paid in August, and primary school teachers, last paid in October, secondary school teachers told us that they have not received leave allowances in the last five years.

ENUGU STATE In Enugu State, civil servants are yet to be paid for November, more than three weeks into December. Workers who spoke to us said in past years, the culture was that every state governor recognized the need to been pay workers for December, Christmas celebration.

Last week, the labour union leaders in the state gave the state governor, Sullivan Chime, a 21-day ultimatum to clear salary backlog and resolve other pending issues relating to staff welfare or face strike.

A statement signed by Igbokwe Igbokwe, the state Chairman of the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC), and the chairmen and secretaries of all labour unions in the state, vowed to commence an indefinite strike January 15, 2015, if the demands are not met.

Akwa Ibom’s case remains one of the most intriguing given the amount the state draws monthly. While other states receive an average of N5billion, Akwa Ibom and Rivers State receive as much as N25 billion monthly as federal allocation. Still, state workers and pensioners have not received pay for several months, and local government workers are currently on strike. While the state is not directly responsible for paying local government workers, all states in the country operate a compulsory joint account with local governments, and disbursement of local government funds are carried out by the governors.

Though some Governors just before Christmas rushed to pay for one month, the backlogs are still there, and these, many say is happening because the governors know, they are leaving office. For, were it to be when they were staging shows for reelection, this ineptitude
towards leadership would not have happened.