May 29: Benue, Abia, Taraba, other incoming govs set to inherit huge salary debt
Many state governors will step down from their positions over the following few days.
Although some of them are departing with pride, the same could not be said of a significant portion of them.
Concerns have been raised about the backlog of salary and pension payments that some of them would hand over to the next administration on May 29.According to DAILY POST, at least seven of the 28 newly elected governors who are scheduled to take office on May 29 will have their hands full trying to clean up the mess left by the previous administration, particularly when it comes to the backlog of unpaid salaries and pensions.
Some stakeholders believe that reducing the suffering and sorrow brought on by the backlog of unpaid salaries in the states may be a difficult but manageable undertaking for the new governments.
It is disappointing that the plight of employees, particularly civil servants, is still gravely disregarded in a nation where the payment of workers’ wages and other rights is noted as achievement, according to Mr. Anthony Oche, a civil servant in Benue State.
In an appearance on Arise Television on Wednesday, the departing governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade, placed his administration higher than those of his predecessors, according to DAILY POST, stating that he was able to pay salaries and pensions.
Evidently, the governor blamed his inability to pay salaries and pensions on the state’s eight-year failure to complete critical projects.
More concerning is the situation of workers in states like Taraba, Benue, Abia, Plateau, and those whose outgoing governors owe them more than a year’s worth of wages.
