In apparent reference to one of his early watchwords hinged on respect of President Mohammadu Buhari’s call for Independence of the Local Governments in Nigeria, Imo State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, has come hard on the state governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma for failing on his words and attempting to frustrate LGA administration.
According to the LGA workers’ union, in a letter addressed to the governor, after a resolution, the NULGE expressed reservations over approach of the state government to their matter.
The letter with reference number; NULGE/IMSB/T.12/51 and signed by Dr Richard Eze and Comrade Victor Adebayo, State President and Secretary respectively, it states; “ Having critically analyzed the situations surrounding of deliberate delays in the payment of March salaries of the Local Government Staff in the State and their attendant harsh effects on the poor workers, the union wishes to make the following clarifications and observations; whereas your Excellency had in your maiden address to the good people of Imo State, promised among other things, to grant full financial autonomy to all the Local Governments in the State throughout your currency of tenure, it is pertinent to bring to your Excellency’s attention that the local government system in Imo State is currently witnessing the greatest strangulation in the hands of your new Government in flagrant violation of the extent Nigeria Financial Intelligent Unit (NFIU) guidelines”.
The LGA workers went further to state that “notwithstanding their status as the workers at the third tier of government, the NULGE being a responsible union, opted to give your administration the benefit of the doubt by directing her members to release their personal data including their BVN, account details etc as requested by your government as a pre-condition for the payment of their salaries henceforth.
“That the Government which has all personal and official records of her workers from Adam, decided to buy time when it initially feigned that the delays in the payment of the March salaries of the LG workers was caused by the non-submission of the soft copies of the salary details by the Council Treasurers.
“That whereas the Council Treasurers worked very hard to beat the deadline for the submission of the said soft copy of salary vouchers that also contain the BVN and account details of staff from their different homes in the face of the total lock-down declared by the Your Excellency as a measure to fight against the deadly COVID-19, the Government after it exhausted all believable excuses it could hide, under to further punish the Local Government workers by withholding their March salaries, now resorted to the most vexation and provoking antics as announced by your commissioner for information.
“That the Union finds it very difficult to believe the latest press statement from the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Declan Emelumba through the Orient FM, Owerri and other local media outlets wherein he somersaulted from his earlier dummy that Government had cleared all payments of salaries. Mr. Emelumba was quoted as saying that the reason for the latest delay was caused by a discovery of “overbloated wage bills” and claimed that; government has embarked on a verification exercise. He went ahead to announce that the Local Government workers would be paid “in few weeks time”
“ That whereas Governments all over the world have been announcing different palliative measures to cushion the harsh effects of the lock- down order on their citizenry and whereas some Slate Governments like Lagos, Ebony, Anambra and Ondo have paid their Workers up to April, your Government has shown the greatest act of insensitivity by not just failing to provide any palliative measures to her Workers but has gone ahead to wickedly withhold their legitimate salaries even in the face of the biting hardship”.
