[b] As representatives of 21 Peoples Democratic
Party [PDP] governors mounted the rostrum
Saturday night at the presidential villa in
Abuja to announce N1.05 billion in donation
to the PDP, back in their respective states,
school teachers and other state workers were
enduring their second or third month of work
without pay.
PDP Governors at Governors Forum
In some states, the indebtedness to workers
stretched a year.
In Ebonyi, authorities owed teachers under
the Universal Basic Education scheme nearly
12 months of salaries.
In Abia State, secondary school teachers were
last paid in August, while primary school
teachers have been owed since October.
In Akwa Ibom State, the nation’s leading oil
producer which draws more than triple of
what other states receive from the federation
account monthly, local government staff were
on strike. Before the strike, they were forced
to receive half salaries for several months,
while authorities claimed they had no money.
In Cross River, the situation had worsened
after months of indebtedness that state-run
television, the Cross River Broadcasting
Corporation, CRBC, shut off production last
week.
The station remains off air till date. Other
staff fortunate to have received reasonably
up-to-date pay, have yet to be paid for
November.
But on Saturday night, Cross State governor,
Liyel Imoke, stood next to his Bauchi State
colleague, Isa Yuguda, as Mr. Yuguda
announced to a gleeful president and a
shocked nation how the 21 governors who
had been struggling to pay salaries long
before the present oil crisis, rallied N50
million each in donation to the PDP.
“We may do more in future, but that is what
we were able to raise for now,” Mr. Yuguda
assured.
In all, the PDP and the president raked in
over N21 billion, with donations coming from
government contractors, nameless associates,
and Tunde Ayeni, the head of Skye Bank, who
has bought a string of government assets,
including the mega telecoms carrier, NITEL/
MTEL, in a process that has already become
controversial.
On Monday, Arabian Amlak Investment
Limited, one of the 22 companies that bid for
NITEL, filed a legal challenge, saying the
Nigerian government, through the Bureau of
Public Enterprises, deliberately skewed the
privatisation process to favour Mr. Ayeni’s
company.
As chairman of the PDP fund raiser, Mr. Ayeni
donated N2 billion. He announced that he
was donating N1 billion on behalf of himself
and an unnamed partner, and another two
billion on behalf of his friends. After a while,
Mr. Ayeni returned to the podium to
announce another donation of half a billion
naira on behalf of himself and other players in
the country’s power sector.
A former Information Minister, Jerry Gana,
announced a donation of N5 billion, again,
on behalf of his unnamed friends and
associates in the power sector.
Other major donors were oil and gas
operators– N5 billion; players in Real Estate
and Building – N4 billion; Transport and
Aviation – N 1billion; Food and Agriculture –
N500 million; Power – N500 million;
Construction – N310 million; Road
Construction – N250 million; National
Automotive Association – N450 million;
Shelter Development Limited – N250 million;
and SIFAX group – N100 million.
But the governors’ donations stood out for
many reason, including the fact that workers
in many of their states remain without pay for
months even with Christmas and New Year
around the corner.
In Plateau State, under Jonah Jang, workers
are currently owed three months of pay. In
Ondo State, Governor Olusegun Mimiko has
also failed to pay secondary school teachers
and other categories of workers for the last
three months.
In Benue State, workers have been at a
longstanding confrontation with the governor,
Gabriel Suswam, who has yet to pay them for
months.
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 PREMIUM TIMES on Monday
they have not received leave allowances in
the last five years.
In Enugu State, civil servants are yet to be
paid for November, more than three weeks
into the new month. Workers who spoke to
PREMIUM TIMES said in past years, the
culture was that by now, they would have
been paid for December.
On Monday, 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. [/b]

wat is urs say on this,, good,BAD, CANT SAY,PATRIOTISM

Don't mind those bastards sons of a thousand father

Sylvarresta:
Don't mind those bastards sons of a thousand father

but even d APC governors are owing d workers

Ennyhorlar:
but even d APC governors are owing d workers

but not like the pdp.