Abuja – Gov. Adams Oshiomhole of Edo on Friday in Abuja advocated for upward review of workers’ salaries to reflect socio-economic realities in the country.
Oshiomhole made the call while fielding questions from State House correspondents after he met behind closed doors with President Muhammadu Buhari in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to him, the Nigerian worker, especially in the public sector, remains grossly underpaid, hence the demand for wage increase by labour movements makes economic sense.
He, however, stressed the need for all tiers of government to vigorously fight the scourge of “ghost workers’’ and block all leakages to ensure steady payment of salaries to workers.
He also urged governments to employ all possible means, including modern technology, to cut down on financial leakages in government payroll.
The governor alleged that the lack of transparency in disbursing funds from the Federation Account under the previous administration cost the Edo government about N10 billion.
He further alleged that the loss in federal revenue suffered by Edo and other states were because the previous government did not share with the states all federally collected revenues as required by law.
He gave the example of the 1.7 billion dollars remitted last month by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) firm as taxes, and which was only shared for the first time as bailout to the three tiers of government.
He concluded that Edo state alone, which he described as one of the lowest federal revenue earners, would have received up to N10 billion in the last four years if NLNG taxes were shared out to states.
While clarifying that Edo government did not owe workers any salaries or allowances, Oshiomhole said efforts were being made to boost the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
He, however, acknowledged that some states were better placed to get more from IGR because of large number of industries and economic activities going on there.(NAN)
