Workers want EFCC to probe Aregbesola, others

THE Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU) has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, and other governors who have not paid their workers’ salaries for months. The union urged the anti-graft commission to urgently swing into action by investigating all the governors owing salaries; both the serving and those who have been voted out with a view to bringing them to book. The NCSU, after its one-day meeting held in Abuja to review the issue of unpaid salaries by state governors across the country, said it was high time the EFCC beam its search light into the activities of the affected governors. Also, in a communique issued at the end of the meeting, jointly signed by the President, Comrade Kiri Mohammed and its Acting General Secretary, Comrade Felix Ifoh, the union described as unfortunate a situation where some states and local governments could not pay salaries, allowances and other mandatory deductions due to corruption. The communique regretted that state resources were used in paying for inflated contracts and other personal expenses, including chartered flights, sponsoring of political campaigns, bogus security votes and payment of severance allowances. The union wonder why state and local governments should fail in their mandatory responsibility, adding that the situation was not only unfortunate but criminal. It, therefore, called on the EFCC to investigate the activities of the governors, serving, voted out or finished their tenure and bringing them to justice. The union lamented that the civil servants were facing difficulties as a result of non-payment of salaries, saying that they could no longer feed their family, or afford to pay school fees of their children. Besides, the NSCU said the workers could not attend to the medical bills of their families, and have to trek to their various offices daily. The union, however, commended the Federal Government for averting serious industrial disputes capable of creeping the poor state of the nation’s economy, due to a bold and courageous step taken to assist affected states. It also hailed the doggedness of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), for putting in place a task force on unpaid salaries of workers in state and local governments. The union pointed out that the inability of state governments to pay salaries was not as a result of paucity of funds, but for high level of corruption, misappropriation of resources and flagrant disregard for the fulfilment of contractual agreement. It, however, urged workers in the affected states who are yet to commence action to wake up to their responsibility.