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From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
Edo state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, has refuted the Edo State government’s claim on the payment of salary arrears to local government workers stressing that local government’s salary indebtedness to council workers range from two to seventeen months in arrears.
In a statement issued by the secretary, NULGE, Edo State Chapter, Olumuyiwa Cole, and made available to newsmen in Benin, it said “for as much as we may not be able to contest payment of salaries to state workers, we can categorically say, without any iota of fear of contradiction that Edo state government is owing council workers in the various councils, salaries arrears ranging from two months to 17 months, as the case may be.”
“We frown at the position of government on the subject matter as posited by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media Project that even local government council workers are not owed any salaries, as it is capable of misleading the public and deals further hardship on our members working at the local government level”
NULGE Scribe further said ” we acknowledge the fact that local governments are responsible for the payment of workers under it, but it is a fact that the funds/account from where they are paid is managed by the state government and it is from what is allocated to each local government that salaries are paid”.
He stated further that the IGR sources where local government could have augument have been taken over by the state government.
“This is to state the obvious fact that the state government, irrespective of being a separate tier of government, is vicariously liable for the arrears of salaries owed local government workers”
Meanwhile, Edo state government had in its statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media Projects, Mr. Crusoe Osagie criticised the report by a civic-tech organization, BudgIT rating Edo state among the states salaries indebtedness to workers saying that
“We hereby debunk the misleading media report by a civic-tech organization, BudgIT, that the Edo state government is owing workers six months’ salaries.
“The report is not only false and mischievous, it is disingenuous in its intentions.
“BudgIT obviously got its data wrong. It is regrettable that an organization that should uphold the principles of data integrity and accuracy is involved in spreading incorrect information.
“The Edo state government does not owe state workers salaries. On the contrary, Edo is the first state to increase the minimum wage to N40,000 above the nationally approved N30,000. It has also been consistent in paying the new wage to workers.
