IMO: Okorocha Gets Tactical To Cut Expenditure

A FEW days after President Muhammadu Buhari took over the reins of power on May 29, 2015, some governors in the country, led by Chief Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, who is also chairman of the All Progressives Congress Governors’ Forum, went to him, asking for financial bailout to enable them pay backlog of salaries owed workers in their various states. They cited the dwindling allocations caused by the fall in oil prices in the international market.

The President granted the request and tasked the governors on prudent management. He later directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to release to them funds from the Company Income Tax (CIT) accrued from the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for bailout, and government later injected additional funds.

Imo had applied for about N26.4b, which was later released to the state. As at then, the state government owed core civil servants about three months; nine months to public servants of various parastatals and agencies; seven months to the retired civil servants and about 20 months to the retired primary school teachers in the state.

Barely two months ago, almost the same period, the state government received a little over N3b from the monthly allocation, while the 27 local councils also got a little above N3b. The same period witnessed a reduction in the monthly loan repayment from about N1b to about N480m, the governor said.

In all, the state government got about N33b, but the governor said the state government expends above N1.2b monthly to pay workers, adding that elections are yet to be conducted in the councils, because of pending litigations. Also, because the governor dissolved the State Executive Council (EXCO), just a month after he was sworn-in for a second term, till date, he is yet to appoint any commissioner, except a few Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants, Chief Press Secretary and Task Forces, committees and permanent secretaries.

The governor revealed that he was saving about N100m monthly due to the absence of political appointees. Speaking at a stakeholders meeting he summoned principally to address workers, Okorocha said he had received the bailout funds. He, however, regretted that there were many alleged ghost workers, stressing that on account of that, he was going to pay based on verification of authentic workers and retirees.

He rued the strike action embarked upon by workers despite his promise to pay them when the money was made available. The governor recalled how he paid the same workers N20,000 minimum wage despite the state’s financial challenges. He angrily directed a reversion to what other neighbouring states such as, Enugu, Ebonyi and Anambra were paying, adding that the medical workers special allowances (Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, CONMESS; and Consolidated Health Medical Salary Structure, CONHESS) was to be reduced for the same reason. Accusing the health workers in the state-owned health institutions of low productivity, Okorocha directed the immediate concession of the general Hospitals and other health institutions.

Also, the governor later carried out the threat as well as concession others to make more revenue to the state government. As expected, workers have been protesting the action. The Guardian gathered that from available records, all the civil servants have been paid up till September, except those who have issues of not being captured. This includes, the 27 local council staff.

Though, civil servants are all smiles now, retirees have not been paid since beginning of the year, according to them. Similarly, retired primary school teachers are being owed for about 22 months. They have been subjected to a series of verification exercises, still to no avail.

Okorocha said the team of verifying officials, uncovered alleged discrepancies, leading to the arrest of a 74-year old alleged fake pensioner and his accomplice. He also said about 17 per cent of such cases at the local councils were uncovered, maintaining that he would ensure that the ghost workers’ funds recovered would be ploughed into other meaningful development ventures.

Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, told The Guardian that those fighting the governor over the concessioning exercise were not doing the state any good, adding that the state needed to grow economically by ensuring that fresh ideas were injected into the about 28 parastatals and agencies to make them productive.

Despite the financial problems, Okorocha said he was happy that capital projects, such as fly-overs, inherited from the immediate past administration of Chief Ikedi Ohakim, building new structures at already existing schools in Owerri municipal and other zonal cities in the state, roads construction and free education programme are ongoing.