FALLOUT: A TEST OF ORTOM’S COMMITMENT TO HIS PEOPLE

Benue Bailout Fallout: A Test Of Ortom’s Commitment To His People =====∞====================∞====== By Solomon Ayado Benue State government is among the various states of the federation that could not pay workers salaries for months, a precarious situation that was inherited by the present administration both at the center and state. A whooping N28 billion was then advanced to the state to offset the backlog of salaries and arrears. SOLOMON AYADO takes a look at what has become of the disbursement after the loan was accessed. The Benue State government got the state’s share of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s bailout scheme for financially handicap states across the country to enable them offset the over six months backlog of salaries owned workers. This development was greeted with unprecedented joy and excitement across the length of breath of the state, but, the disbursement process, which is the most critical to the suffering civil servants both at the state and local government levels have turned their joy into agony and disbelief and, elicited the question as to whether the government is paying lip-service or genuinely interested in alleviating the sufferings of the people. The introduction of the e-payment and staff auditing which, initially was designed to ensure accountability in line with the change mantra of the present administration of the All Progressives Congress, APC at all levels without the exception of Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has so far presented a contrary stance. It further depicts a perceived paltering outing or a choke of stumbling blocks by counter developers who are deliberately evolving sordid plots to undermine the disbursement process and cast the change government in bad light. The wrangling emanating from the handling of the e-payment system by the awardees’ contractor attests much to the fact that there were underground plans to defraud the long-owed workers. The wide spread allegations of under payment, illegitimate transfer and payment of funds, outright unnecessary deductions and very high degrees of inconsistencies heralded the payment and disbursement processes. It is important to note that prior to the commencement of the process, there was an open display of expletives from the unpaid workers over the screening and verification of staff. Many workers, who have been employed and had provided services for the state government over decades, were suddenly found and declared as ghost workers. This is notwithstanding the fact that the civil service is bedeviled with a varied underground shade of ghost worker system which, it was gathered, the fictitious staff only exist on the payment vouchers. And as such, the fake names are being used to derive additional funds for settlement of packages for political bigwig and their godfathers. The internal untidy exercise to fish out ghost workers has become a contemporaneous decimal for previous and succeeding administrations to thrive. Such funds accrued from the illegal deals are succinctly utilized by the government officials to brazen their personal aggrandized wealth, at the expense of the poverty stricken masses. It is pertinent to state that Benue state was allegedly seen by many to be left in shambles and that the economy was thrown into total deficit by the administration of former Governor Gabriel Suswam, therefore, it is argued that for any successive administration to bring development to bear, such must dive into a borrowing spree in order to foster economic sustainability. This widely held notion, is what the change administration of Ortom had announced the people of Benue on assumption of office that “the state treasury was not just left empty but in total deficit.” It was further discovered in the local government and primary schools that some alleged looted funds that are being probed are yet to be recovered. To ensure the fair distribution of bailout funds to clear owed salaries, the state governor constituted a committee that was headed by the special adviser on local government and chieftancy affairs, Mr Titus Zam to achieve a 100 per cent disbursement. But the bureau failed in the discharge of its duties and compounded the problems for the state. However, while the contractor handling the e-payment system was found to have been employed by the immediate past administration of Suswam to conduct the process and it failed woefully, the state workers protested and said they cannot subject themselves to hardship and had expressed fears that ridding on the platform provided by his predecessor to achieve accountability through the engagement of the same contractor hired by former Governor Suswam would be a tall order for the incumbent governor, Samuel Ortom . Another critical issue that came to the fore was whether or not the screening of workers was necessary at the time the staff were not paid salaries for several months, because they insisted that the non payment of their legitimate dues had led to deaths and school-drop-out of their family members. Others argued that a staff verification and screening was not initially conducted by the state government before it had applied for the bailout funds, therefore another round of the similar exercise after the bailout was secured was simply taking them for a ride. There were lots of questions and government was left with no better option than to halt the e-payment to douse the concerns that were raised over the process of disbursement, especially with regards to the payment of local government staff and primary school teachers. Disturbed by the worrisome posers on the bailout funds, the Benue State House of Assembly had expressed dissatisfaction over the disbursement of the N28.5 billion by summoning Ortom’s aides including the special adviser on local government and the commissioner of finance to appear before it and offer valid explanations over the inadequacies. Although the ineptitude of the assembly, led by the speaker, Honourable Terkimbi Ikyange was at its peak , therefore the unsatisfactory explaining offered by the state government officials saddled with the responsibility of disbursements ended up another shame and clearly shoddy. The toothless Assembly tried a suggestion that all those entitled to the funds be paid since they were captured before the funds were released hit the brick wall as an adamant Special Adviser on local government, Zam blatantly refused to heed to this position of the lawmakers , insisting that such indulgence would encourage fraud in the Civil Service. Conversely, the assuming positive image of the entire administration of Governor Ortom was being dragged to the mud if the disbursement of the bailout funds was not quickly intervened. The people especial civil servants were sick and tired of the change government which they fondly regarded as “go slow” and negatively impacting. The governor waded and ordered the immediate suspension of the e- payment. He explained that the suspension became necessary in view of the challenges being encountered in the course of the disbursement of the funds to local government workers and primary school teachers. In the mix of the controversies, the local government adviser had allegedly threatened to resign should he be stripped of the responsibility of handling of the disbursement of funds, that again was not just laughable , but goes further to raise the issues of accountability and self cover ups, otherwise why would a Special Adviser threaten to quit, if asked to allow another component of the same government handle a responsibility that is not constitutionally the responsibility of Zam and his Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs purview. However, Governor Ortom and State Executive Council, apparently noticed the inadequacies and constituted a new committee headed by the Special Adviser on Labour and Employment, Patricia Kupchi to speed up the process and ensure 100 percent completion of the payment, as soon as possible. Other members include the Special advisers on Special Duties, Joe Kyaagba, politics, Sarwuan Tarnongu, Rural Development and Cooperatives, Tsenongo Abancha, Research and Statistics, Adzer Abya; Development Cooperation and Sustainable Development Goals, and New Partnership for Africa’s Development, Dr Magdalyne Dura; as well as Economic Development, Bem Melladu. It directed the committee to liaise with Directors General Services and Administration, Treasurers, and Education Secretaries in the 23 local government areas to collate names of those who have not been paid and others who have complaints for immediate action.