Abia faults use of 80% of LG allocations salaries

 Workers shun biometric audit

The Abia State Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Commissioner, Christopher Enweremadu has faulted the use of 80 per cent of statutory accruals to the 17 LGAs of the State to the payment of the salaries of 40,000 council workers. He also bemoaned lack of response to biometric exercise, which the State Government has directed workers to participate in its bid to tackle the menace of ghost workers. 
 
The Commissioner disclosed this during an interaction with journalists in his office, to explain the status of local government workers salaries, which he said were in some arrears.He pointed out that allocations/accruals to local governments in the country are not solely for workers salaries, adding that the state government is however creating some avenue for the Local Governments to be more productive and generate income that would contribute to the payment of their salaries.
 
He disclosed that with ghost workers, illegal and bloated payment of salaries still persist in the State despite the efforts introduced by government to check the practices through institutionalisation of biometric auditing.
 
“The powerful cabal behind the criminal acts has continued to frustrate the staff biometric auditing and discouraged the workers from presenting themselves for the biometric capturing exercise. And when government moved against this, the cabal resorted to blackmailing government especially as the election year approaches,” he said. 

The Commissioner consequently renewed government’s plea to workers in the state to identify members of the cabal to safe millions of naira that is paid out illegally.
He added that the safe funds would be re-channeled appropriately, stating that by end of December, salaries owed workers in the state local council system would be short by one month while the balance arrears would have been fully settled before the 2019 elections.