Gov. Ishaku presents N110.2bn budget estimate for 2017 fiscal year
Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State on Thursday presented an estimate of one hundred and ten billion, one hundred and sixty eight million, nine hundred and eighty three thousand, nine hundred and forty two naira (N110,168,983,942.00) as the State’s Appropriation Bill for 2017 fiscal year before the legislators of the State Assembly.
Presenting the budget at the Hallow Chambers of the House of Assembly Jalingo, Darius Ishaku frowned at the 2016 budget which according to him, did not receive full implantation due to the Nation’s current economic recession. The Governor opined that out of the estimated N110.1bn presented before the lawmakers, the recurrent expenditure would have N49.3bn representing 44.77 per cent of the budget while the remaining N60.8bn (55.23) is for capital expenditure. Darius Ishaku, who however added that despite the economic quagmire his administration was able to make some remarkable achievements as dividends of democracy for the people. “No Civil Servant is being owed even a kobo as salary, anybody with such complaints is not under the State Government’s payroll” “Peace has fully returned in the State”, Ishaku maintained. In his remarks, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abel Peter Diah who described Governor Ishaku’s budget as budget of hope, assured him of the lawmakers’ preparedness in giving the budget adequate attention and speedy passage.
In an interview with newsmen shortly, the chairman, House of Assembly Committee on Information, Hon. Sale Saad who also represents the people of Jalingo II Constituency at the state assembly, agreed that the 2016 Budget did not receive full implementation due to economic recession but he however, lauded the Governor’s effort saying he performed above average. In the meantime, workers in the state under the auspices of the organized labour unions, yesterday shut down the state secretariat and other strategic areas in protest against nonpayment as well as other irregularities in the payment of salaries.
The workers were also protesting ‘a year of insensitivity and impunity from government with regard to the wellbeing of civil servants and pensioners in the state. Addressing the workers, the state chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) Peter Gambo said government continued ‘insensitivity’ to the plight of the workers, deductions from their salaries, nonpayment of local government workers and teachers and subjection of workers to meaningless screening and futile verification exercise had necessitated the action of the union.
Gambo also alleged that union dues are deducted indiscriminately without being remitted to the respective unions and no explanations are given, showing the extent of incompetence of the consultant handling salary payments in the state and called for an end to it. “The government has shown that the welfare of workers in the state is not its priority. Workers have been subjected to all kinds of belittling treatments in the name of screening and verification that have not yielded any fruits apart from subjecting workers to extreme hardships… “The Starter Up Consultant has proven very high incompetence in handling payment of salaries while the UBA has clearly shown that they are confused.
All these must stop and stop now”, Gambo said. Addressing the protesters, the state Head of Service, Mr. Simon Angyu said the government was aware of the complaints of the workers and was already putting measures in place to address their grievances. Angyu further called on the workers to quit the protest and make way for “peaceful and civilized discussions on the way forward. But during the budget presentation, Governor Ishaku contradicted the head of service statement by saying that the state government ‘is not owing any worker a salary and whoever protests is not state government or local government worker.’
