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PAYMENT OF MONTHLY SALARIES: HOW GOVERNOR BELLO MATAWALLE IS PLAYING MAGIC

Published

10 months ago

on

OPINION ARTICLE

BY

Lawal Muhammad Maru
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Amidst serious economic crises in the country some states in Nigeria are finding it very difficult to even pay salaries not to talk of executing developmental projects that are considered critical to human survival.

While the economic crises is looming among states in Nigeria, civil servants are at the receiving end; hence they continue to sleep within days of uncertainty as some states find it difficult to pay them salaries while pensioners could not be paid pension and gratuity for years.

Budgit a Civil Society financial tracker had recently released an updated report on state’s financial and economic strengths and as at July 31st 2022 Budgit indicators have shown that states like Ebonyi, Abia, Edo, Imo, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau and Taraba are among those that are owing their civil servants salaries of between six months and above.

Looking at the disbursement flow from January to June 2022 the data by the federal ministry of finance showed that the Federal Government got N1.684 trillion in the seven months. This sum makes up 37.62% of the total N4.477 trillion disbursed. State Governments got 31.42% of the amount, which is N1.407 trillion. The sum N962.83 was shared among the 774 Local Governments in the country. This shows that all the Local Governments together got 21.5% of the disbursements. An additional N258.363 was shared as the 13% derivation to the 9 oil-producing states.

It takes serious states in Nigeria the top time to exhibit wonders, or magic to be able to sustain payment of salaries and other entitlements of active and retired civil servants.

Zamfara state government led by Governor Bello Matawalle has been able to sustain this hard-earned momentum of paying monthly salaries without mincing the repercussions of insecurity, and its attendant effects on the economic development of the state.

From June 2019 a month after the government was inaugurated to date, data has shown that Matawalle administration has been able to sustain the payment of monthly salaries uninterrupted as well as monthly pension to retired civil servants.

This effort is beside payment of one hundred million on monthly basis for the settlement of backlog of gratuity. Estimate has shown that the administration of Matawalle since 2019 was able to settle over (N2b) two billion naira backlog of retirement benefits.

Again the state has inherited a backlog of debt worth over (N80b) eighty billion naira and these huge amount of debt is being settled on instalmental basis by the Governor.

Coming back to the contract liabilities alone the Governor according to the Ahmad Zabarma and Ibrahim Isah Mayana committee reports on state and local government projects from 2011-2019 the state is owing contract liabilities worth over (N100b) one hundred billion naira and the government is making significant progress in the gradual settlement of these liabilities to contractors.

It shall also be remembered that the state IGR is dropping drastically due to the consequential effects of insecurity, which affects the inflow of business activities, especially in the major markets.

Very few concern citizens cares to ask how the state government can use the scarce resources which are sometimes within the range of just (N2b) Two billion naira and little above to be able to pay salaries of close to (N2b) two billion naira and also sustain its considerable investment in supporting security operations, as well as execution of developmental projects.

Despite this looming economic crises, the government is still actively doing well in the provision of massive infrastructures, social intervention programmes, human empowerment, skills acquisition as well as women empowerment.

The labour and trade unions in the state need to actively support the state government initiative in its quest to transform the state by sensitizing its members on the effort made by the government of Bello Matawalle.

LAWAL MUHAMMAD MARU
Is a Senior Special Assistant to Governor of Zamfara State Bello Muhammad Matawallen Maradun (Barden Kasar Hausa)

 

 

 

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Daily News

SUPPORTING SEN. AKPABIO: YARIMAN BAKURA HAS DEMONSTRATED HIS UNENDING CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE NORTH

Published

1 week ago

on

May 18, 2023

By

BIG STORY

By

Managing Editor

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The Chairman of the APC Defense Coalition, Dr. Suleiman Shuaibu Sarki Shanun Shinkafi had lambasted Sen. Ahmad Sani Yariman Bakura the former Governor of Zamfara state for allegedly backing Senator Gods will Akpabio’s candidature of becoming the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly.

He said the action of Senator Yarima is a clear demonstration of his unending conspiracy against the North and the people of Northern Nigeria by extension.

Sarkin Shanu in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday insisted that it will be an act of conspiracy and mischief for the Zamfara former Governor, Ahmad Sani Yarima to back a southern candidate for the post of Senate President when he already has someone from Zamfara and a fellow Northerner who is buying for the same position.

He noted that the action of Senator Ahmad Yarima is a clear impression that he is an enemy of the North and the people of Northern Nigeria by extension, adding that Northerners need to be awakened and rise to the occasion before people like Yariman Bakura nail the region down for personal self enrichment.

“Yariman Bakura has demonstrated his strong and extreme disregard for the Northern Nigerian by supporting Sen. Godswill Akpabio as against the candidature of the former Governor of Zamfara Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar, and we are ready to fight him to finishing for working against the interest of the North”.

“The North West in particular has produces over 50% of the votes that produces Sen. Bola Ahmad Tinubu as the President during the 2023 election and now that our own from the region is contesting for the post of Senate President we have no option than to stand firmly behind him and enemies of the North like Yariman Bakura will fail woefully when the time comes”.

“Yariman Bakura has never hidden his personal enmity for the progress of Sen. Abdulaziz Yari and this can be demonstrated since what happened in the 2019 political race and now in the 2023 election when he worked openly against the success of the APC in Zamfara state” the statement added.

“It is shameful of Sen. Yarima to show his political solidarity to Godswill Akpabio in the open world and his action is a clear demonstration that he has declared war against the North and Northern Nigeria and by the special will of Allah Yarima he will be humiliated for working against the North” the statement added.

“We implore Sen. Yari to remain firm and focus and continue to mobilize strongly for his candidature for the Senate President, and we assure him he will emerge victorious looking at the dynamics of the way things are going, the APC zoning arrangement will surely fail”.

“For record, the President-elect is from the South, the Chief Justice of the federation who is the head of the judicial arm is also from the South, so there is no way the North will allow the seat of the Senate President who is the head of the legislative arm to shift to the South again”. The statement added.

He called on Senator Yarima to have the fear of God and leave Senator Yari alone, noting that God almighty has already made Yari the political hero of the current generation.

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Daily News

YARI REMAINS MY CANDIDATE FOR THE OFFICE OF THE SENATE PRESIDENT: SEN. SEN. SUMAILA

Published

1 week ago

on

May 18, 2023

By

A Kano Senator-elect under the platform of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) Kawu Sumaila has declared to that APC zoning arrangement was an insult to the Nigerian parliament.

Sen. Kawu Sumaila who stated this on the National Television insisted that, former Governor of Zamfara and senator elect Abdulaziz Yari remain his candidate for the office of the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly.

He stated that, the National Assembly, as an independent arm of the government, should be free from the control of the executive.

“It is an insult for the APC to dictate to me where I will go in the choosing the presiding officers”.

He added that the majority of the lawmakers-elect were already discussing working against the zoning arrangements announced by the APC.

He urged Tinubu not to allow political sycophants to dictate the fortune of things for him.

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IMPOSIITION OF LEADERSHIP ON MEMBERS OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DANGEROUS TO NIGERIA’S DEMOCRACY: CISLAC

Published

1 week ago

on

May 18, 2023

By

The Executive Director Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center Awal Musa Rafsanjani has described the APC zoning arrangements as announced as an attempt to pocket the 10th National Assembly.

Rafsanjani who stated this in an interview insisted that the culture of imposition of leadership on the national assembly has grave danger to the nation’s Democratic process.

Rafsanjani stated “some people endorsed by the party for leadership have corruption allegation against them, having them as presiding officers in the legislatures will neutralize anti-graft fights and will further erode the public image of the parliament.

“What the President-elect and the APC have done is to completely pocket the legislatures and make them not only rubber stamp parliament but also an extension of the presidency” .

While affirming that CISLAC supported equitable zoning of national assembly leadership seats , it condemned the imposition of individuals on the lawmakers.

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