The Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule, have suspend Directors of Personnel Management (DPMs) and Directors of Finance and Supplies (DFS) in 13 local governments over inflation of salary figures.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Adamu Shigafarta who disclosed that the directive came through the Local Government Service Commission, added that the directors were suspended for three months.
Shigafarta
said the Directors 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 the local governments.
He
further revealed that the local government workers were audited over
some abnormalities following the decision of the government to use April
2012 payment vouchers to get to the root of the fraud.
He
said: "Council salaries as at 2012 was N1.1 billion, but now that there
are no employment, promotions, people died, some retired, while others
left for greener pasture, from nowhere local government salaries
skyrocketed to N1.3 billion monthly.
“That
was why two months ago, the state government constituted a committee
headed by the 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, over N600 million was remaining; so
they directed local governments to go back and pay salaries with 2012
payment vouchers, but the DFS refused.
“From
the ministry they were directed to use 2012 payment vouchers to pay
salaries and if there is any genuine complaint, they should be forwarded
to the committee for ratification, but they refused; they held payment
of salaries to ransom. That was why the government directed that they be
suspended.”
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