Group advises FG on N713.7bn bailout

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has urged the Federal Government to monitor the state governments as well as Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure that the N713.7 billion granted to them is used for that purpose. In a statement issued in Lagos, the ASCSN Secretary- General, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, stated that the advice had become necessary because feelers from the states indicate that some governors had concluded plans to divert the fund.

“This is why we are requesting that the Presidency should set up necessary machinery to monitor the disbursement of the fund by the State Governments to ensure that it is used to pay salaries and allowances. “It will be a tragedy if this humongous sum of money is diverted to private pockets and not used to pay public servants their salaries and allowances some of which have been outstanding for more than nine months,” the union emphasised.

The ASCSN stated that such states should be encouraged to imbibe the culture of financial prudence and discouraged from embarking on white elephant projects or indulging in financial recklessness and conspicuous consumption. “More importantly, it should also be made clear to them not to develop the mentality of Oliver Twist or begin to see the Federal Government as Father Christmas that is ever ready to be doling out bailouts to them” the union stressed.

The ASCSN posited that the release of N713.7 billion to offset arrears of salaries and allowances of public service employees had demonstrated clearly that the high hope and expectation placed on Mr. President by more than 15 million voters who gave him a historic mandate on March 28, 2015 was not misplaced. It added that it was the more reason the Presidency should not allow the beneficiaries to rubbish the good gesture of Mr. President to Nigerian workers. The ASCSN also enjoined the Federal Government to use the Office of the Accountant- General of the Federation to supervise the bailout that would accrue to some Federal MDAs to ensure that it was used to settle the salaries and allowances of workers. It added that arrears of allowances owed federal public service employees include but not limited to promotion arrears outstanding since 2007, first 28 days in lieu of hotel accommodation, Duty Tour Allowance (DTA), mandatory training allowance for the training by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) in 2010, burial expenses, repatriation allowance, among others.