Niger Delta
Bayelsa Govt Approves Allowance Arrears For Ex-Councillors
The Bayelsa State Government has approved the payment of the backlog of allowances owed former councillors popularly known as Restoration Councillors who served the various local councils from 2013 to 2016.
To this end, government has directed the chairmen of the eight local government councils to commence payment of the arrears on instalment basis not later than August this year.
The State Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, gave the directive at a meeting with the local government chairmen and representatives of the Restoration Councillors’ Forum in Government House, Yenagoa.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo said after careful consideration of the current financial position of the various councils, government and the Mrs Ebiere Igodo Adeh-led Committee jointly agreed on the payment of a monthly installment of N100,000 to each of the former councilors
He, however, noted that this amount, which is also endorsed by the council chairmen, would be increased to N200,000 any month the councils received improved allocations in order to shorten the repayment period.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo who faulted some of the monetary claims presented by the councillors, noted that slight adjustments were made as available records revealed that some of them had received overpayments before leaving office.
“We have agreed that we start the payment with N100,000 to each councilor for each month, because of the resources available to the councils.
“We have gone through the records. The first thing we want to correct is the amount some of you declared as outstanding allowance. We discovered that what some of you declared was not the right amount, so that has been adjusted.For the councillors, what is being owed each of you is N2.2 million as against the N2.280 million which you presented in your report. Again some of the figures you claimed that you had been paid in some of the LGAs showed that some of you were overpaid
“For example, in Southern Ijaw Local Government, you claimed that you were paid N150 thousand, but the records showed that you were paid N250 thousand at a time. So the amounts have been reviewed”, he said.
“The total amount owed by Brass is N11.7m as against the N12.7m you presented. For Ekeremor, the amount was reviewed from N25.8m to N24.8m; while that of Kolokuma/Opokuma from N23.7m to N22.7m and that of Nembe from N17.8m to N16.4m. The figure for Ogbia was reviewed from N27.9m to N26.8m; Sagbama from N28.2m to N26.9m; Southern Ijaw from N36.5m to N30m, and Yenagoa from N32.2m to N30.9m”, he added.
To ensure uniformity and compliance with the mode of payment by all the councils, he assured the former councillors that the payments would be tied to the monthly Joint Account Allocations Committee (JAAC) approvals.
While expressing gratitude to the former lawmakers for their patience and maturity, the Deputy Governor urged them to forward their bank account details to their respective councils for e-payment of the agreed monthly installments.
According to the Deputy Governor, “What we want to do is that, we want to factor this into the monthly JAAC of the local government councils. That means as they are paying the JAAC money, you will also get your alerts.
“So, every one of you should send your bank account details to the chairmen of the councils for the payment to commence from either this month (July) or latest August.”
Responding on behalf of the Restoration Councillors’ Forum, Hon. Believe Ezekiel, thanked to the Governor Douye Diri-led Prosperity Government and the council chairmen for their prompt response and show of understanding towards their plight.
The Forum particularly appreciated the Deputy Governor for his fatherly disposition and pledged their continued support to the present administration.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
Dufugha, however, expressed resentment over what he described as stringent measures against assessing the State’s Students Loan Scheme, especially for the common citizens.
He made the observations while briefing journalists at the Earliest Ikoli Press Centre, Ekeki, in Yenagoa, the State capital.
“I commend the Governor for the relative peace in the state owing to his approach to the security of lives and properties in the State.
“For now, the police in Bayelsa State is using drones to monitor red flag areas that can cause security breaches and that has really encouraged the peace in the State.
“The security situation has improved and we commend the government for that. We cannot deny the fact that there is relative peace in the State”, he said.
On the State’s students loan, the publisher accused the scheme of having elitist posture due to its accessibility process.
He argued that it would be difficult for the ordinary Bayelsan to provide a Level-17 civil servant as guarantor to be able to benefit from the scheme, describing it as a systemic denial of the less privileged.
He noted that the loan was supposed to be a succour to indigent Bayelsa parents and students who could not assess education easily, noting that such persons should not be made to face cumbersome situations before assessing the financial instrument.
On road infrastructure, the Niger Delta Herald Publisher and Editor-in-chief praised the Diri’s administration on the work done on the three senatorial district roads and tasked the government to do more.
Dufugha, who described Bayelsa State as a wealthy State, asserted that the oil rich state needed to see more developmental strides comparative to its current financial status.
“Bayelsa is not a poor state in terms of public revenue. We’re an oil producing state. We receive federal allocations. We receive derivation revenue. We have access to enormous public resources.
“We receive interventions. Yet, after all these years, the ordinary citizen is still asking, what exactly are we getting for our money? Where are the industries? Where are the jobs? Where are the functional health institutions? Where is the agricultural transformation? Where is the human capital development? Where is the economic diversification?,” he argued.
He enjoined the government to redouble effort in the education and health subsectors, adding that it would pay the state a lot if there were centres for the treatment of critical health cases such as cancer and others in order to save lives and avoid capital flight.
The Publisher urged the Senator Diri-led government and the public not to misunderstand his message as hatred or personal issues with the Governor, but see it as a constitutional and professional duty to hold government accountable.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
Deputy Governor of the State, Dr. Peter Akpe, stated this rexently when he received the Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in ernment House, Yenagoa.
charge of Bayelsa and Rivers States, during a courtesy visit to Government House, Yenagoa.
Akpe said the general perception of those in politics has always been that of corruption, but noted that the position of the Douye Diri-led Prosperity Administration is non-tolerance for corruption.
Akpe, who frowned at the habit of writing unfounded petitions against individuals and groups, said the heap of petition files from Bayelsa State at the ICPC was several times higher than that from any other state in the country.
He reminded residents that writing unjustifiable petitions to anti-graft agencies is not only a bad culture, but also attracts jail penalty, and assured the ICPC of the state government’s support to improve public enlightenment.
“Our government is a government that believes in zero tolerance for corruption; that is why we are always open to interact with you and other anti-graft agencies.
“Usually, there is this issue of negative perception of politics and politicians. But it is not true that every politician is corrupt. We have a good number of people in politics that are not corrupt, and we believe that a good percentage of them are in this government.
“The issue of petitions at the ICPC: What we observed was that the heap of files from Bayelsa were 10 times higher than the ones from even Lagos, and 15 more times than the ones from Sokoto and other states.
“That is quite disturbing. More so, most of those petitions were ion, our people should also know that such frivolous petitions can land them in jail”, he saidfrivolous.
From a personal experience, I can tell you that most of the petitions are extremely frivolous. While we will never tolerate corruption, our people should also know that such frivolous petitions can land them in jail”, he said.
Earlier in her remarks, the ICPC Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner in charge of Rivers and Bayelsa States, Dr. Ekere Usiere, highlighted the statutory mandate of the ICPC, stressing that its mission was to carry out sensitisation on the ills of corruption in the Nigerian society.
Usiere, who expressed concern at the volume of petitions currently before the ICPC emanating from communities in Bayelsa over the management of the PIA funds, expressed the commission’s desire to partner the Bayelsa State Ministry of Information to carry out sensitisation programmes.
The ICPC Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner was accompanied on the visit by Assistant Chief Superintendent, Mr. Evans Peters; Principal Superintendent, Mr. Emmanuel Akpor; Assistant Superintendent, Mrs. Tamaraudoubra Ebebi; and the Administrative Officer, Mr. Frank Yileaziba.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Director of Administration and Human Resources, Sir Kelechi Nwelue, gave the advice during a commission-wide staff interactive session with Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and insurance companies at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
In a statement signed and issued by Seledi Thompson-Wakama
Director, Corporate Affairs, Nwelue said the programme, approved by the Managing Director of the commission, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, was organised to sensitise staff on pension schemes and provide them with the knowledge required to make informed decisions about their retirement savings.
He particularly urged newly recruited employees to acquaint themselves with the operations and responsibilities of various PFAs before choosing an administrator to manage their pension contributions.
According to him, pension contributions deducted from employees’ salaries, alongside employers’ contributions, constitute long-term savings designed to provide financial support after retirement.
He urged staff to carefully assess the information provided by the participating pension administrators and choose the option best suited to their long-term financial interests.
Nwelue stressed that employees were at liberty to select their preferred pension administrator, noting that the interactive session provided an opportunity for the various companies to explain their products, services and benefits.
Also speaking, a Director in the Directorate of Administration and Human Resources, Mr. James Fole, said the programme was aimed at deepening employees’ understanding of pension, insurance and other financial instruments that could improve their financial wellbeing during and after active service.
Fole warned that inadequate preparation for retirement could expose employees to financial hardship in their post-service years.
He said: “That is not what the Managing Director, Executive Management and the entire management want for our staff. We want to see a situation where retirees enjoy a reasonable level of comfort, knowing that the Commission has contributed to their future.”
He added that equipping employees with appropriate financial knowledge while they were still in active service remained critical to achieving a financially secure retirement.
Several pension and insurance companies participated in the interactive session.
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