In Aggressive Cash Drive for Electioneering, Governors Abandon Projects, Cut Salaries

Emmanuel Bello

An intense cash drive for electioneering has caused some state governors to stop financing ongoing projects, while also cutting down on civil servants’ salaries or not even paying at all.  All cash is now diverted into special accounts for electioneering matters.

A survey by THISDAY showed that while a lull has generally set into government activities nationwide, with the focus shifted to the forthcoming elections, some states seem to be only a breath away from being shut down. 
Many of the states have put an embargo on all payments to both local and international contractors. In one of the states, a construction giant has threatened to drag the state to court while the labour unions are up in arms against others.

In Benue State for instance, the non-payment of two months' salaries is viewed by many respondents who spoke to THISDAY as a way for Governor Gabriel Suswam to save up funds for the forthcoming general election, wondering why the political interest of certain individuals would subject the livelihood of the masses to needless jeopardy.

Teachers and other civil servants have been on strike for a number of months with no hope in sight for an amicable resolution of the dispute. Amos Idoko, a striking teacher, alleged that the governor is trying to save up money for his campaign.

“I have long decided that the governor who is running for the senate wants to use our small money to run for office, because I don’t see why someone would ever treat poor teachers like he is doing now. He was trained by us and to treat us this way shows that he is not a honourable man,” he claimed.

But reacting, the media aide to the governor, Dr. Cletus Akwaya, told THISDAY that such thinking bears all the marks of the opposition in the state, stressing that the salary issue is purely a labour matter that would soon be resolved. “So if the governor is running for office, is it the money of civil servants he would use or what?

“Don’t forget that this is Suswam who has been a governor for two terms. Can someone say such a person doesn’t have his own funds to seek a smaller office? It is preposterous to think that someone who ran for the office of governor twice and won twice would have to corner workers’ salaries to be able to win a senatorial contest,” he said.

He also dismissed the entire non-payment of salaries issue as a labour problem that had nothing to do with election funding.
“What most people don’t know is that it is Suswam who first increased workers’ salaries in this state. What now happened is that an increment issue came up so the governor pleaded that he may have to cut down on the salaries to be able to continue paying the new figures. It is from here that all hell broke loose. So there are negotiations ongoing to resolve them,” he said.

Suswam, a two-time governor, is seeking to become a senator. He has a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Barnabas Gemade, to contend with. Gemade is said to have garnered enough funds in his four-year tenure, coupled with his deep pockets from his days as national chairman of the party to confront Suswam.

His opponents say Suswam has also abandoned projects as part of the fund raising efforts. It is a charge Akwaya dismissed as laughable.

In Taraba State, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the government of Alhaji Garba Umar over the non-payment of salaries and allowances. The labour leaders have decried a situation where top government officials continue to frolic and live like emperors while civil servants are owed salaries.

Umar, who is the current acting governor of the state, is running for office as governor. He is accused of borrowing to pay staff salaries but even that has not happened for two months now. His critics say governance has practically stopped in Jalingo, the state capital, with political thugs being the only ones “working”.

Ibrahim Aliyu Lamido, a Jalingo-based politician, believes that the state is now engrossed in political activities. “Two weeks ago, we were forced to observe a public holiday because the acting governor went to Abuja to buy his nomination form. It was a work day and all the big men in the state went to Abuja with him. The town was practically emptied out. And salaries have not been paid too,” he claimed.

Consequently, a giant construction company, PW, has purportedly pulled out of the state. It was gathered that the company is owed for works on the Bali-Gembu road that has stopped.

A top government source however debunked the allegation, stressing that work stopped on the road because of the general cash crunch from the centre. He said states, including Taraba State, are getting less money from the Federation Account due to dwindling oil revenue in the face of falling prices and oil theft.

Umar is up against an array of opponents - all money bags in their own right - for the governorship contest. Among them is former Minister of Niger Delta, Ishaku Darius, protégé of the globally acclaimed billionaire, General T Y Danjuma.

In Nasarawa State, apart from the IBTC road leading to some communities in the eastern flank of the state, sources told THISDAY that projects are still ongoing and salaries are paid promptly. Governor Tanko Al-Makura is however getting set for an epic battle with former Minister of Information, Labaran Maku.

In Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States, it is not clear whether the lull in government activities is because of the worsening insurgency or due to political activities. In Adamawa, residents complain that governance has stopped due to the Nyako-Fintiri-Ngilara saga, which saw heightened political brinkmanship in the beleaguered state.

But former Commissioner for Information in Borno State, Inuwa Bwala, has said it is political patronage and not insurgency that has grounded governance in his state to a halt. “Borno is at a standstill but it is not about the insurgency. Is there insurgency in Maiduguri? The truth is that the government there has stopped because of the high level of corruption. The governor is busy buying cars for all his cronies and that is why there is no money for any developmental work and no overheads are being paid, even though he manages to pay salaries,” he alleged.

But government spokesperson, Isa Gasau, has flayed this charge, stressing that Governor Kashim Shettima is doing the most he can, given the bad situation the state finds itself as the epicentre of the violence.

The Governor of Niger State, Dr. Aliyu Babangida, recently raised the alarm that 31 states had been hit by an acute cash crunch which could make it impossible for them to meet their obligations to even their workforce, let alone pay contractors.

 

Culled from thisdaylive.com