Salaries: Workers demand cut in governors’ security votes

May 16, 2015

 

NLC president, Ayuba Wabba

Civil servants in Nigeria have suggested that the 36 state governors should slash their security votes as part of the strategies to offset their salary arrears.

The workers, many of who spoke with Saturday PUNCH during the week, condemned the huge security votes which they said the governors were drawing from their states’ budgets monthly.

According to them, substantial percentage of the security votes can be used to pay junior workers

Oyo State Government currently owes its workers three months’ salaries. Some of the state civil servants, who spoke with one of our correspondents in Ibadan, urged the state governor, Abiola Ajimobi, to slash his security vote to facilitate prompt payment of salaries. “No matter the amount of security vote the governor is getting monthly, he should slash it considerably and use part of it to pay workers’ salaries,” a Grade Level 8 worker, who identified himself as Akeem Tiaminu, said.

“Government cannot function properly if workers are not happy. Security vote is not the only aspect of the budget that must be reviewed; there are other expenses that are not productive in every government. Whatever the measure taken to reduce the cost of governance, workers must not be at the receiving end.”

The Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress in the state, Waheed Olojede, said the size of the state workforce should not be difficult for the governor to manage since the workers are productive.

He said, “The state resumed payment of February salary on Tuesday but unfortunately, it has not gone round. At the NLC meeting last week, it was agreed that we must communicate the plight of our members to the government especially at this time of fuel price increase which makes life difficult for workers.”

It was, however, gathered that the state monthly wage bill rose to N5.7bn due to the current administration’s decision to increase workers’ salaries and allowances.

The total number of the state work force, according to a labour union leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, is 69,000. In the budget presented to the state House of Assembly, the government proposed a total of N141.8bn. While the amount of security vote out of the budget is not clear, a total of N44.559bn, representing 31.43 per cent of the budget was dedicated to general administration cost. Analysts however believe governors usually draw their security votes from money meant for general administration.

Osun State workers are also being owned six months salaries by the government.

Although Governor Rauf Aregbesola has not disclosed how much he collects as security vote every month, an official of the state House of Assembly, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, told one of our correspondents that the governor draws N400m as security vote every month.

There is also no accurate figure of the workforce of the state. While some people estimated that the entire workforce is about 40,000, others believe the workers are less than 20,000.

It will be recalled that the governor employed 20,000 youths immediately after his inauguration under the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme. The state wage bill has been put at N3.6bn by the governor on many occasions.

The Medical and Dental Consultant Association of Nigeria at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, criticised Aregbesola for allegedly deducting security vote from the state’s allocation despite not paying workers’ salaries.

The Secretary of MDCAN, LAUTECH, Osogbo, Dr. Tokunbo Olajumoke, said in an interview with one of our correspondents on Thursday that the governor did not pay doctors and other workers because he did not make workers’ salaries a priority.

“We discovered that the non-payment of our salaries is not because the state is unable to pay but rather because our salaries are not considered to be a priority,” Olajumoke said.

It was learnt that the Cross River State Government has yet to pay its 20,000 workers’ salaries for March, 2015 as of the time of filing in this report on May 14, 2015.

Some of the state workers, who said they had been begging to survive, pleaded with the state governor, Mr. Liyel Imoke, to slash his monthly N500m security vote to pay part of their salaries. It was, however, learnt that the state gets about N3bn from the federation account every month.

Also, the Ondo State wage bill is put at N3bn while Governor Olusegun Mimiko is said to draw N600m security vote every month.

Though the state government owes its workers one month salary, the civil servants expressed dismay that they were not being paid their salaries as at when due.

They said the governor should have slashed his security vote since the state is not facing any crisis that demands special financial intervention.

The Ogun State Government has 65,540 workers on its payroll.

The state Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, said the workers include those in the Local Government Councils and tertiary institutions in the state. The state wage bill is N6.5bn, according to the figure released by Adeosun.

She, however, said Governor Ibikunle Amosun does not draw security vote from the state monthly allocation. A senior government official, however, confided in one of our correspondents that the governor draws between N80m and N100m as security vote every month.

“The security vote under the Otunba Gbenga Daniel administration was N60m, but after Senator Ibikunle Amosun’s administration was inaugurated, the security vote was reviewed upwards,” the official said.

The Chairman, Rivers State Trade Union Congress, Mr. Chika Onuegbu, who claimed that he did not know how much the state governor collects as security vote, demanded that the money should be scaled down to reflect the economic reality in the country.

He said, “Payment of workers’ salaries should be a priority. The fact that the money available is small should also reflect in what the governor takes as security vote.” The state Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Chamberlain Peterside, however, put the total number of the state workforce at 55,000.

Saturday PUNCH learnt from a Government House source that Kogi State Governor, Capt. Idris Wada (retd.), draws N400m monthly as security vote against his predecessor’s N40m. According to the information gathered from the state Ministry of Finance, the Kogi State wage bill is N3.1bn.

Labour unions in Edo State hailed Governor Adams Oshiohmole for not owing workers, but they still demanded a downward review of his security vote to aid the payment of local government employees in the state.