The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), on Saturday urged state governments across to use the second tranche of the Paris Club refund for payment of accumulated workers’ salaries and pension of retirees in their various domains as intended by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Just back from his medical treatment from London some weeks ago, the President had during a surprise visit to a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), directed the release of the fund estimated at about N500bn as part of measures to help the governors pay salaries of their civil servants and pension arrears.
A total of N388bn was shared as part of the first tranche of the refund to the various state governments, amidst claims of misappropriation and deliberate diversion of the funds by some governors. Also worrisome is how the secretariat of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) and the office of Senate President Bukola Saraki got involved in the fund, leading to allegation of the diversion of N19bn.
The NEC, chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, is attended by governors of the 36 states of the federation.
Rising from a meeting of its B-Zone, comprising the six states in the South West geo-political zone made up of Oyo, Ekiti, Osun, Lagos, Ogun and Ondo, held in Akure, capital of Ondo State, the NUJ noted “with serious concern the high rate at which government and private media workers are being owed salaries, and calls on media owners to devise better strategies of improving the welfare of media practitioners to justify their commitments to their duties.”
According to a recent report, only Lagos in the South West zone does not owe workers’ salaries, besides being up-to-date in its obligation to pensioners.
A communiqué at the end of the meeting attended by Chairmen and Secretaries of all the member states, as well as Alhaji Waheed Odusile, the National President of the union and presided over by the Vice President of the Zone, Cosmas Oni, also condemned the recent delay in the confirmation of new Resident Electoral Commissioners (NEC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which has been caught in the ongoing executive-legislature power play over the failure of President Buhari to sack Economic & Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) acting chairman after his confirmation was withheld a second time by the Senate.
Going by the need to prepare adequately for the 2019 general elections, as well as governorship elections in some states like Anambra, Ondo and Ekiti, among others between now and 2018, the NUJ lamented that the lingering power play “has the potentials of truncating our democracy and (is) obviously not in the interest of the citizenry.”
The communiqué, signed by Lawal Afolabi, the Zonal Secretary, however commended the recent working visit of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, to the region, urging the Federal Government to improve power supply and address the deplorable condition of roads in the region for enhanced economic development.
While lamenting that poor electricity supply is affecting smooth operations of Radio and Television stations, the zone “expressed satisfaction with the steady appreciation of Naira against dollars, urging the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and federal government to evolve more policies that will make the naira strong and move the country out of economic recession which is already taking its toll on the citizenry.”
