BudgIT, a civic organization that applies technology to intersect citizen engagement with institutional improvement, to facilitate societal change, has reported that some states were yet to pay pension and salary entitlements of pensioners and civil servants despite the N1.7 trillion released to them by the Federal Government for the purpose.
The civil society organization, in its survey which aims at ascertaining the frequency and magnitude of challenges civil servants and pensioners are encountering, noted that 12 states were yet to settle secondary schools teachers’ salaries weeks after securing funds to do so.
The survey focused on three different categories of workers in all 36 states namely: primary and secondary school teachers, state midwives and state secretariat workers. Also, attention was paid to ascertain if retirees at the state level are receiving pensions as at when due.
A statement issued on the survey findings by the organisation’s Communication Lead, Ayomide Faleye, indicated that from the survey carried out, the state governments still in default on the secondary schools teachers’ entitlements were threatening workers to keep the information away from public domain.
BudgIT listed key among the states with outstanding liabilities to secondary teachers as comprising Osun and Kogi state.
It clarified further: “Osun State has been paying secondary school teachers above level 8 only a fraction of their salaries and entitlement for the last 30 months. Cumulatively, Osun state is owing secondary school teachers above level 8 about 15 months’ salary.
“Other states with outstanding liabilities to states include Abia, Benue, Bayelsa, Kwara, Imo, Ekiti, Oyo, Ondo and Zamfara. Kogi State, for instance, is owing teachers about 13 months salaries according to the response given by secondary school teachers during the survey.
“Midwives, whose responsibility includes attending to issues around pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, women’s sexual and reproductive health and newborn care – are also bugged down by issues including failure of some state to pay salaries and emolument as at when due.
“Midwives were questioned during the survey across the 36 states. BudgIT discovered that 10 states are owing midwives salaries as at close of business on September 24, 2018.
“Delta, Imo, Abia, Osun, Plateau, Bayelsa, Ekiti and 11 other states owe Pensioners entitlement ranging from 1 month to 36 months. Almost all pensioners expressed how unhappy they are, their dissatisfaction with the government and how hard it has been for them to survive despite years of hard work up into service”, the organization added.
It tasked the states owing workers and pensioners salaries and other entitlements to offset outstanding liabilities as the bailout funds estimated to be about N1.8 trillion had been provided by the Federal Government to assist them in off-setting all outstanding liabilities to workers.
