LGA Salary Arrears: APC Slams Okowa Over N5Billion Offer To Councils, Says It’s Political Deceit

The Delta State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described Governor Okowa’s offer of N5billion to Council Chairmen to offset Salary backlogs of Local Government workers as a Political Deceit.

This submission on the recent action by the State Governor was contained in a Press Statement issued by the Publicity Secretary of the APC in Delta State, Mr. Ogheneluemu Sylvester Imonina, positing that, the throes of poverty, economic hardship and ridicules on the Local Government Workers were orchestrated by the government of Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa.

The Statement as obtained by ASABA METRO on Monday, September 24, 2018 reads;

SEN. IFEANYI OKOWA PROMISE OF FIVE BILLION NAIRA FOR PAYMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCIL WORKERS’ SALARIES IS A POLITICAL DECEIT.

For the past three years, Local Government Council workers in Delta State have been living in the throes of poverty, hardship and ridicules because of the unwarranted economic hardship meted on them by the government of Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa.

Because of political reasons, the Ministry of Local Government Affairs was created by Delta State government, and Local Government Council relegated to a position of a Ministry. Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari wanted to free Local Government Council from the jaws of the States by way of financial autonomy, but Delta State government, led by Sen. Okowa connived with the House of Assembly of the State and his likeminds from other States and the bill before the National Assembly was strangulated.

Before now, the song on the lips of Sen. Okowa was/is that it is not his responsibility to pay Local Government Council workers. Constitutionally, he could be right. However, in view of the fact that he never allowed direct Federal allocations to Local Government Council, but created an account for siphoning allocations accruing to them, Sen. Okowa is duty/morally bound to pay the salaries of Local Government Council workers. That moral obligation, he abandoned for the past three years.

Sen. Okowa who knows that Deltans are tired of him, recently promised to make Five Billion Naira available for payment of Local Government Council workers because elections are around the corner.

Workers are urged to collect their monies/salaries, for it is their right. However, they should do the needful by voting PDP government out of Delta State, come 2019.

Signed:

Ogheneluemu Sylvester Imonina,
Publicity Secretary, APC, Delta State.