Federal Civil Servants Slam Okonjo-Iweala, AGF Over Non-Payment Of Dec. Salary

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria on Thursday took the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Jonah Otunla to the cleaners over their claims that all federal workers had been paid their December 2013 salary, describing the statement as incorrect and unfortunate.

The ASCSN stressed that thousands of employees in 44 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS) were yet to be paid their December 2013 salary.

The association listed some of the 44 affected MDAs yet to pay civil servants their December 2013 salary as the National Boundary Commission, Public Complaint Commission, National Health Insurance Scheme, Federal Ministry of Finance, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, National Emergency Management Agency, National Lottery Commission and Federal Ministry of Works.

Accordingly, the ASCSN urged the Federal Government to discharge its elementary function of paying civil servants their December 2013 salary and arrears, which had been outstanding since July 2013 “instead of embarking on empty propaganda”.

The ASCSN, an affiliate of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, in a statement obtained in Abuja and signed by its Secretary-General, Mr. Alade Bashir Lawal, insisted that it stood by its earlier position that “thousands of Federal Civil Servants have not been paid their December 2013 salary and arrears outstanding since July 2013”.

Lawal said, “Governance is not about propaganda. The government should, therefore, do the needful by paying civil servants their remunerations without further delay or face industrial action because this is now a matter of survival for thousands of civil servants who have not been paid the pittance they receive as salary in the same economy where political office holders go home monthly with millions of naira as remunerations.

“These top government functionaries who are claiming that civil servants have been paid their salary, receive millions of naira monthly as remunerations apart from innumerable perquisites of office they are entitled to and as such are necessarily insulated from poverty and since they are in a comfort zone, they can afford to be insensitive to the plight of civil servants, who serve their father land diligently in spite of meagre salary they receive. The government should therefore pay civil servants their legitimate incomes and stop waiting to look for scapegoats on this issue”.