Non-Payment Of Salary Blamed On Global Drop In Oil

By Chigozie Uzosike

The non-payment of salary in Imo State has been blamed on the global drop in oil price, with a call on civil servants to be patient with the government.

This was the passionate appeal from the member representing Nkwerre state constituency, Hon. Chika Madumere when he spoke to newsmen at the Assembly complex.

He noted that the non-payment of salary is not only the state nor federal government problem but that it is global issue, adding that the funds coming in as federal allocation has reduced by 50% because of the global drop in the price of crude sales. He regretted that Nigeria which depends on oil, is the only country in the world that has not diversified its economy.

“We are solely dependent on sale of crude oil, so that anything that happens to the prices of crude oil, affects the country and concomitantly affects the states since most of the states depend on the federal allocation”, he submitted.

The Chairman House Committee on Millennium Development Goals, MDGs asserted that unfortunately most of the civil servants do not know why salaries have been not paid, while calling on them to appreciate the economic situation and have patience with the state government, saying that even the lawmakers have also sacrificed by reducing their salaries, insisting that all and sundry must help the government to close up some linkages in the state

Madumere revealed that there is need to increase the internally generated revenue of the state by making sure that every sector and people who do business in the state pay their taxes based on what they earn, stressing that the keke drivers, the hoteliers, supermarkets, filling stations, Okada riders, especially calling on the heads of churches to prevail on their members to pay their taxes and remove the tax percentage from the salaries of their workers and remit to the government so that the IGR of the state can increase.

He said to ensure that the IGR is managed prudently, the government has gotten one account where all the revenues are paid into, adding that once this is done, Imo state can begin to diversify its income generation, instead of rushing to the federal government every month for allocation.