Benue trim workforce

JANUARY SALARY DISCREPANCIES, INVESTIGATION SHOWS REMITA HAS NO CONTRACT WITH BENUE STATE GOVERNMENT TO PAY SALARIES

Pat Hyua
11/03/2018

The Benue State House of Assembly this week rounded off its ongoing interface with persons connected with the payment of January salaries by SystemSpec Limited (Remita consultant) that led to the undue deductions, underpayments, overpayments, and non payment of some civil servants by interacting with the Deputy Governor, Benson Abounu who is also the chairman, State Emergency Committee on Salary Issues. During the interface on Thursday, the Deputy Governor said SystrmSpec Limited (Remita consultant) has no contract with Benue State government to pay salaries.

Few days ago, the House interacted with the Commissioner for Finance Mr. David Olofu, Head of Service, Mr. George Ede, Secretary to the State Emergency Committee on Salary Issues, Mr. Matthew Uyina, SystemSpec Limited (Remita consultant), SA to the Governor on Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon Titus Zam, Chairman, Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, Dr. Philip Tachin and other relevant authorities over the January salary quagmires.

There were so many issues during the separate interactions with the above officers that were crying for answers, clarifications to their confusion even among the officers that were supposed to provide answers to some of the issues. It was indeed very clear there was a spade whose name perhaps was very difficult to call.

It is obvious that in the first phase of the interaction, the head of service Mr. George Ede in his attempt to answer one of the lead questions put to him by the Majority Leader, Rt. Hon. B. T. Adanyi said, "...the figure that was given, the one that I saw was not the one used to pay the January salaries..." This, Mr. Ede said was to collaborate what Mr. Uyina (secretary to the state emergency committee on salaries and Permanent Secretary ministry of finance) said  "...unfortunately, everybody is afraid of saying it, but I am not afraid... The representative of Remita consultant abandoned the data we gave them and used something I don't know how he came up with, this is just the truth...something that has no bearing with what we provided...when I took the bull by the horn...the young man said he had three different data from three sources, he was comparing his own, our own and another one...then he ended up paying what he taught was appropriate..."

Yet, Mr. Uyina could not answer the question, who gave the consultant the data used? It was on a separate day when the consultant (Remita appeared before the House that they said Ministry of finance generated the data they used in paying state civil servants salaries, but that the data used at the local governments was the one sent from the emergency committee headed by the Deputy Governor. This, Mr. Titus Zam had already told the House on a separate interaction that he used the data from the state committee headed by the Deputy Governor to send money to SUBEB and local governments for payment of January salaries.

When the Deputy Governor appeared yesterday, in an attempt to answer the lead question "can you please brief this Honourable House about the issues surrounding the payment of January, 2018 salaries in the State?" Put to him by the Deputy Majority Leader, Rt. Hon. Nick Eworo stated"... if we must tell the truth, the salary situation in Benue will be settled once and for all..."

The Deputy Governor said when Remita was questioned on where it got the data, they said one Mrs. Dooshima gave them the list, that the commissioner for finance asked her to give Remita for payment of January salaries. The List Remita said had about 250 (250×2) duplicates sub head numbers that were later removed by Remita.

When the House questioned the representative of Remita on why it refused to use the data from the committee on salaries, he said the finance commissioner who contracted them told them not to use the report from the committee and because the commissioner for finance employed them, they had no choice but to use it.

Be that as it may, when the Deputy Governor confirmed that it was his report that was used for the payment of January salaries for local governments and teachers, members wondered why local governments and teachers seem to have more issues, could it be that the data from his committee is not better than that of the finance commissioner?

The Deputy Governor told the House he was aware there were going to be issues considering the size of the investigation, he was aware some of the issues were going to be genuine arriving from human error, computer error and some criminal elements fighting to remain at work, he said all complaints were going to be transparently addressed.

The Deputy Governor had earlier explained that, his committee was saddled with the terms of reference of determining the exact number of workers of the Benue State government both the civil service and the local government system and also determine the exact wage bill accruable to the wokers.

He explained further that, the attendant consequences of the two terms are that you must be qualified to be an authentic worker of the Benue State government, you have to have been employed based on the lay down procedures ordering your employment, for instance, if someone who decided to alter his documents and in the process change his date of birth to extend his stay in the service, such person has to go. He also said those that came in fraudulently or without any approval from the Governor for employment will also go, those without approval fall under the category of those employed at the local governments after 2011 (since there was no approval for employment after 2011). Outside these, it may be an error, he added.

The foregoing made the member representing Gwer East, Hon. Stephen Tyochir to present documents with specific numbers of persons with all their data who were employed after 2011 but were still paid and those who were fall under same period but were still not paid. He also gave the list of those who were due for retirement and were still paid and those who fall under the same category but were not paid. Mr. Tyochir presented the names of these categories of persons all over the 23 local governments accordingly.

This prompted the Speaker, Mr. Terkimbi Ikyange to ask the Deputy Governor to look into all the issues and complaints of workers especially the issues raised by Tyochir with all urgency as they could naturally lead to more problems. He stressed that it was normal that somebody who got employment with another on the same date or circumstances will not keep quiet seeing himself pulled out of the service while the other remains.

Earlier, the Deputy Governor had told the House that:
*The commissioner for finance (Mr. David Olofu) has already admitted he was not given any approval to appoint a consultant.  That he did appoint the consultant because he needed the services urgently, even this cloth of urgency could not properly clothe the whole body as there was no justification for the "urgency".

*On the issue that the commissioner for Justice vetted the agreement that was presented to the House supposedly signed between the SystemSpec Limited (Remita) and Benue State Government. (Of course, the validity of the agreement was questioned by honourable members for falling short of common sense, there was no date in the whole of the document, the people that signed for Remita did not write their names, the commissioner for justice had no place in the document that was drafted for the state government), the Deputy Governor told the House that the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice had already at the instance of the Governor denied vetting any such agreement.

*The wage bill of the state now is 5.5b, meaning (this may change after some of the genuine problems are resolved?)
a. 1.9b for state workers
b. 1.4b for  teachers
c. 1.4 for local governments
d. About 500m for BSU
e. 500m for pension =5.5b

* That staff strength of the state is now:
16, 679,000 for state civil servants
17, 750, 000 for teachers
17, 600,000 for local governments

*That all those found wanting after investigations will be punished accordingly.

The House said after it findings it will seat with the state emergency committee on salary issues for their inputs.