Bayelsa Confirms Owing Five Months Salary Arrears

The Bayelsa State Government yesterday described the impression that it was owing workers between 10 and 16 months salary backlog as inaccurate and insisted that outstanding obligation to its workfore was four-and-a-half months.
The state government clarified the status of indebtedness to labour in a statement issued by Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, the State Commissioner for Information.
According to Iworiso-Markson, the arrears of four and half months accumulated in 2016 due to a sharp drop in the revenue profile of the state, adding that following improvements in receipts from the federation account, the state has no outstanding salary in 2017 fiscal year. Our correspondent recalls that council workers across the eight local government areas, including primary school teachers, are being owed between 10 and 16 months salary backlog.
The Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah had on November 7 announced that the state government withheld the October 2017 salary of some 4, 200 workers in the local government system accused of involvement in payroll fraud. Messrs John Ndiomu and Tari Dounana, Chairmen of Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress respectively had challenged the state government to provide evidence for its action and prosecute those indicted as the unions would not support illegality.
The government further said that it had nothing to do with the salary backlog in the councils as the local governments in the state enjoyed financial autonomy.
“As a matter of state policy, the Seriake Dickson’s administration does not tamper with local government allocations. This fact must be stressed because of the falsehood being peddled in some quarters that the state is owing local government workers.
“It is public knowledge that government is waging a war against an endemic payroll fraud in the civil service in Bayelsa”.