(BIG STORY) 

By

Managing Editor

_____________________

The non-payment of July 2023 salary to the state civil servants by the government of Zamfara state is not without a serious controversy hence thousands of innocent civil servants including Permanent Secretaries, Directors and other category of senior and junior civil servants were badly affected by the decision.

It was alleged that this number of civil servants quoted above were not paid their salary for the month of July 2023 and there are a multiple number of reasons that were advanced by the government as to why the scenario happened.

Some sources said, the reason for the non-payment of the July 2023 salary to this category of civil servants in Zamfara may not be unconnected with use of a two-years old biometric data generated since the first year of the administration of Bello Matawalle.

The Nalamiz data was allegedly used after the consultant engaged by the previous administration of Bello Matawalle refused to release his data for payment of July salary due to his alleged abrupt disengagement by the current administration for reason yet to be made public.

The situation is generating mixed feelings as civil servants in the stats are becoming frustrated for having their salaries not paid, and coupled with the economic conditions in the country, many believe that, the trend is becoming a sad an alarming one.

FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS AFFECTS THE ABILITY OF CIVIL SERVANTS TO RESUME WORK

The visit by this media to the Jibril Bala Yakubu Secretariat where the majority of the state ministries are hosted indicates that the majority of the offices are under-lock and key hence civil servants who are affected by this negative development find it difficult to come to the work due to serious financial constraints.

One of the civil servants we interviewed on condition of anonymity stated that, “majority of those you are seeing around the secretariat are people who mostly trekked from around Igala Quarters and Gida Dari nearby here to access the secretariat and those that are not closer to the secretariat have for long stop coming to the office for some obvious reason”.

“Some civil servants can neither fuel their vehicle nor finance public transport to come to the office due to the economic hardship and to make the situation harder, some of them were among those excluded from the July 2023 salary”.

“As I speak to you there are some ministries here where you cannot find up to five senior staff in attendance most of those you find are junior workers laborers especially those who come to their daily routine jobs and leave hence the majority of the senior civil servants do not have designated schedules to carried out in the office”.

Another civil servant laments “I was not paid June and July Salary and despite the condition, I have manage to come to the secretariat simply to dowse the tension in me but contrary to what we have expected things are moving from bad to worse in Zamfara”.

Another civil servant lament “I have gone to the Ministry of Finance to complain about my exclusion in the June and July 2023 salary but the response I received from the staff of the ministry is that, here in finance we cannot do anything because we are not directly involved in the management of the payment of salary”.

WHERE THE PROBLEM LIES WITH THE DATA GENERATED FROM NALAMIZ COMMITTEE.

The data captured from the Nalamiz committee is outdated, looking at the fact that it was generated for the past two and a half years.

The committee was constituted by the former Finance Commissioner, Mr. Rabiu Garba as part of his resolved then to ensure that Zamfara has joined the committee of other state operating on the (IPSAS) platform.

Several valid recruitments were made by the immediate past administration of Bello Matawalle after the committee had abandoned the exercise to an inclusive stage.

Observers believed that the biometric data capture exercise by the Nalamiz committee was characterized by a series of irregularities which made the entire program a suspicious.

“I will tell you with full confidence that, many people who were removed during the exercise conducted by Nalamiz were eventually replaced by himself through alleged various inducements.

“The allegation of making monetary inducement to the committee members led by Nalamiz was evident; hence the matter was even taken to the anti-graft agency,” a source explained.

Another concern raised by the stakeholders is that if the same report of Nalamiz was used in preparing the July 2023 salary eventually dead people, retirees that are on pension payroll might have gotten salary hence thousands of civil servants that have died or retired are captured in the biometric exercise by the committee.

UNCEREMONIOUS DIS-ENGAGEMENT OF THE CONSULTANT HANDLING THE SALARY PAYROLL.

This medium had reliably gathered that the consulting firm handling the payment of salary BERIFUITE LTD was unceremoniously sidelined in the payment of the July 2023 salary by the Zamfara state government.

The former consultant disengaged by the last administration, NURTECH TECHNOLOGY, was re-engaged by the current administration to handle the payment of salary of the state civil servants in the state henceforth.

NURTECH Technology was the company that handled the biometric data capture alongside the committee led by Nalamaiz and that raised a serious suspecion that the new consultant might have influenced the government to re-engage him to handle the exercise.

A source at the state Ministry of Finance who spoke to this medium in confidence said the consultant handling the payment of salary for the Ministry of Finance was only asked to supply the Finance Ministry with the data he has used in preparing the June 2023 salary and after that, the next thing was for another consultant to take over the exercise and released July 2023 salary.

He stated that the normal procedure that is required is for the government to prepare a solid exit plan for the suspended consultant so that the incoming one can be carried along to be able to understand the reality of things and also got his contract as consultant validly terminated.

Now the civil servants who were not captured initially were left with an option of joining long queues in banks to do another biometric capture before the government can announce the date often which they would be paid their salary.

Effort by this medium to reach out to Mr. Nalamiz to respond to issues raised against his committee report was unsuccessful but the medium will keep trying it’s possible best get in touch with him and hear his own side of the story.

BIO-METRIC DATA CAPTURE NOT AN EXCUSE FOR ZMSG TO REFUSE WORKERS THEIR SALARIES.

A financial expert based in Zamfara who was interviewed on condition of privacy told this medium that the state government should not hide under the pretense of biometric capture to subject civil servants of the state to another serious hardship, hence every account holder in Nigeria has conducted one form of biometric data capture or the other.

What is expected of them is to demand from these civil servants’ evidence of their thumbprint from their respective banks if at all it is the principal issue, or in the alternative, they should request for the BVN of all the civil servants affected for out right validation.

He stated that there is no reason why the government of Zamfara is capitalizing on the issue of data capture, especially in this digital age when things are in the open to subject over (5000) people to a serious economic hardship.

“Remember this is a government that  campaign for rescue mission also preach the gospel of doing the right thing so there is no reason why this kind of excuse shall be trending “ the expert added.

GOVERNOR’S AIDES TRYING TO COMPLICATE ISSUES.

The radio phone in program by some government officials on Zamfara Radio has further degenerate serious concern if not the anger of the affected civil servants hence their outing on Zamfara radio had demonstrated the simple fact it is either they did not understand the complexity in the issue or they are trying to be economical with the truth.

Civil servants under this type of situation are not expected to be frustrated further by statements that sound fictious in nature rather they required a softer chain of communication that will eventually help provide a sort of relief to their high-tension.

Truth is supposed to be said the way it is and where the government is at fault, it shall be stated without any attempt to doctor it and the government should always be seen as man made instruments that can be faulty and made mistakes.

“I will be specific to the media aides of the Governor that they should not constantly try to tell the public that government is always right in all the decisions it has taken because that will be too myopic to reason with” a former Governor’s media aides in Zamfara stated.

SUSPENDED CARRIER DG’s NOT PAID THEIR TWO MONTHS SALARY

This medium had reliably gathered that the carrier Director Generals whose appointments were reversed by the current administration were not paid their June and July 2023 salary henceforth.

One of the former DG’s informed this medium in confidence that himself and other carrier DG’s who accepted the verdict of the government and resumed their old duty post were not paid for the past two months.

“as I speak with you more than 2/3 of us have resumed our old duty post two months back, but our fate was left hanging; hence our monthly salary has not been paid for the past two months”.

LABOUR UNIONS NEED TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE WORKERS

A civil servant interviewed at the JB Yakubu Secretariat in the morning of Tuesday stated that “it is rather unfortunate that, the labor unions are not finding it appropriate to face the affected workers and explained to them the circumstances under which they were denied their July 2023 salary”.

He added that “it seems the labor unions, especially the NLC had accepted what is happening to this number of civil servants under the current leadership and if nothing is heard from the union recently for us we would assume the labor unions are part of the conspiracy against its members”.

The labor need to institute action and get the situation managed on our behalf or else we shall have a course to agree that it is part of the grand plan to sabotage Zamfara workers” another female civil servant working with the primary school in Damba stated.

THUNDER BLOWERS WRITES FOI LETTER TO SPECIAL ADVISER FINANCE.

This medium has written an FOI Letter to the Special Adviser on Finance to allow him respond to issues against the government by the affected workers.

Copy of the FOI letter was also transmitted to the office of the SSG, Head of Service, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress as well as the Trade Union Congress.

The copy of the letter was transmitted to them as stakeholders so that they can be able to input their own part of the stories for public consumption.

OFFICE OF THE PERM. SEC. FINANCE FRUSTRATE EFFORT TO TRANSMIT FOI LETTER TO SPECIAL ADVISER.

The Personal Assistant to the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance attempted to frustrate effort by the Managing Editor/Team Lead to transmit the FOI Letter to the Special Adviser on finance and Economic matters.

He stood his ground that he will not receive the letter; hence it was addressed to the Special Adviser Finance and Economic Matters.

When asked where to locate the office of the Special Adviser he told the Managing Editor that, he should go to the government house and looked for him.

The managing Editor insisted that since the letter is officially addressed to the Special Adviser as the head of the Finance Ministry for now the Permanent Secretary in his absence can receive the mail and forward it on to him.

The personal assistant told the Managing Editor that he has to clear with the Permanent Secretary on whether to receive the letter or not.

After meeting the Permanent Secretary, the Personal Assistant returned and informed the Managing Editor that the Permanent Secretary instructed him to decline the letter.

But the Managing Editor informed the Personal Assistant that by law and convention the Permanent Secretary or anyone else does not have power to reject an official correspondence addressed to the head of the ministry most especially sensitive issue like FOI request.

The Managing Editor out rightly dropped the FOI Request with the PA to the Permanent Secretary and left.

This medium awaits the official response of the State Ministry of Finance on the critical issues raised in our FOI request within seven days from Monday