Our Correspondent reports that the Nasarawa State Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Sule has ordered compulsory three months for thirteen local government Directors of Personnel Management,( DPMs) and Eighteen Local Council Areas, Directors of Finance and Supplies (DFS), for their refusal to work with the directive of the committee set up by the State Government to investigate the discrepancies and high wage bills incurred by local governments.
Nasarawa Governor Orders DPMs, DFS To Go On Compulsory Three Months Suspension
Governor Sule maintained that the suspension of the LG officers became necessary in order to monitor the payment of salaries of local government workers by the state auditor general which has been lingering for three months now.
Nasarawa State Governor gave the compulsory order on Sunday, 15th November 2020, through a directive which was made available to the effect by his Public Relation Officer in the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Ibrahim Adamu Shigafarta.
According to the statement that was made available to journalists in Lafia the Capital city of the State confirmed the development with immediate effect.
Shigarfata said the council officials were suspended because they refused to work with the directive of the committee set up by the government to investigate the discrepancies and high wage bills incurred by local governments.
He maintained that all local government staff were audited over some abnormalities, so the government decided to use April 2012 payment vouchers to get to the roots of the fraud, stressing that the Local Government salaries as of 2012 were 1.1 billion naira, but now that there was no employment, promotions, people died, some retired, while others left for greener pastures jobs, from nowhere local government salaries just shoot up to 1.3 billion naira monthly”
This is the reason why the State Government ordered in two months ago, decided to constitute a committee headed by the state Accountant General, auditor general, permanent secretary, three chairmen and director in the ministry, to look into the problem”
“The committee after investigation discovered that after payment of salaries and other entitlements, the sum of over 600 million naira was remaining; so they directed all councils to go back and pay salaries with 2012 payment vouchers, which the Director Finance Supplies refused”
Shigafarta through the statement stressed that the ministry directed the affected DFS to make use of 2012 payment vouchers to pay salaries and if there are any genuine complaints, they should forward it to the committee for ratification, but they refused.
The statement noted that the DFS held payment of salaries to ransom and that is the reason why the State government directed that they should be suspended for the period of three months so that the State can genuinely work on how to resolve the perceived fraud.
