The Senator Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa-led government in Delta State is steadily slumping as workers who does the jobs are been starved to death while appointees of the insensitive governor smiles home with their bank accounts ever showing green at every month end.
Despite the continuous fall in oil price, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government in the state has appointees well over 2000, some of them have no specific assignment, raising the already over bloated wage bill of the state which is currently affecting it in terms of development and payment of salaries as at when due.
Most of these political appointees does duplicated functions. For instance, the Special Assistant to the governor on Social Media and New Media, Nelso Egware, Ovie Success Ossai and Dantes Odogwu, work on Facebook and not any recognized media platform while his SAs on Print, Victor Efeizomor and Community Newspaper, Jonathan Onwuka does same jobs.
Okowa’s Special Assistant on Electronic, Amaechi Udemba, carries Okowa’s speech about at every event while Ufuoma Weyemi Onovoghakpor, Okowa’s SA on media, has no portfolio attached to her office.
These are people that goes home with the bulk of the money from the Federal Allocation and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state while the civil servants go beggarly.
An impeccable source told our correspondent that the state government has halted the salaries of workers from levels 13-17 as it could only afford to pay from levels 12 down while those at the third tiers of government are being still owe 10 months salaries.
Meanwhile, the Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, Staff Unions; Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), National Association of Academic Technologist (NATT) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) has given a one week ultimatum to the state university and the State Government to pay all owed salaries and arrears failing to do so, the industrial harmony being enjoyed in the university would be jeopardized.
Addressing a joint press conference with the unions in Abraka, the ASUU Chairman, Delta State chapter, Prof. Abel Diapkaromre, said the usual peaceful atmosphere in the university has been gradually thrown into jeopardy and pathetic state as a result of the state governments’ refusal to pay the staff salaries of May and June, 2016, in addition to the non-payment to the staff promoted in 2014 and 2015.
He said, “Despite the refusal to pay salaries, staff of the university are still carrying out their responsibilities, though this may be gradually grinding to a halt. This is because of the dwindling or near total non-availability of financial resources at the disposal of staff. At present, staff are no longer able to effectively attend to their duties happily because the job motivation is now very low because of the deprivation of their salaries”.
“It should be noted that there are no sufficient accommodations of the staff on campus, thus many of them travel long distances to work daily. Being a multi-campus institution, DESUL lecturers shuttles between Abraka, Asaba and Oleh campuses and the university teaching hospital at Oghara to attend to their day-to-day activities. All these activities require money which sadly is no longer available.”
Diapkaromre warned that the non-payment of salaries and arrears was capable of disrupting the forthcoming examination as the staff had no place to borrow money to carry out their primary assignment, while expressing sadness that the staff of the university are singled out for this deliberate financial strangulation.
The ASUU scribe observed that in other climes university workers are treated with utmost care and tenderness, but wondered why this was not experienced by staff of the delta state university, asserting that, this unfortunate trend needed to be changed in order to get the best job motivation and performance for staff of the institution.
The ASUU boss hinted that the delay in payment of salaries could lead to brain drain as many lecturers and other workers have threatened to relocate to universities abroad in search of conducive working conditions, stating that, “many staff in the institution are already being lured to several universities outside the country, especially Southern African countries of South Africa, Botswana, Malawi, Swaziland amongst others.”
Diapkaromre also disclosed that the participation of staff in the general university examination slated for next week could no longer be guaranteed by the unions as well as members going to work from next week, if salaries are not paid within stipulated period.
He added that, “we wish categorically state that in the event of members inability to participate in the examination or to discharge their responsibilities, the unions will protect their members against any attempt by either the university administration or government to prefer charges against them for dereliction of duty because nobody can work on an empty stomach and the Bible enjoins the employer to pay employees because the labourer deserves his wages.”
The unions, therefore, called on the state government and the delta state university to pay all owed salaries and the arrears within the next one week or they would have no any other option than to resort to what they described as PLAN B.
This report is really one sided. I guess the reporter would have done well by hearing from the Delta state Government. I am from Delta State and it is easy to confirm that the ‘Professor’ that issued the press release is very economical with the truth. It is bad to work and not get paid but let him be reminded that there are some states that have been unable to pay their civil servants for about five months. The Professor should please note that “THINGS IS DIFFICULT” everywhere, Delta is no exception. Unnecessary criticism is not the way to go about this, dialogue will produce better results.
There are many wrong assumptions in this story. I really think that besides the two month salary (May and June) which the author alleged that the Delta Government is owing lecturers, there is another agenda behind this public statement especially given the fact that the Governor has openly explained that given the drastic drop in revenue it will be difficult for the state to meet its obligation on salaries. This is very easy to understand because the activities of the militants have drastically affected the state’s revenue from Federal allocation and IGR. Let DELSU ASSU chapter proffer solutions than taking this very aggressive approach for being owed salary of just two months. Which would the union leader prefer in these three options, retrenchment, reduction of salaries or patience with a government that has been paying salaries in the past months. Please have a rethink, Professor!
The agitation by ASSUU leader in its present form is not well packaged as it is full of deceptions, fictitious issues and tales that cannot stand as truth. No Delta State worker is being owed 10 months salary. Even the Local government workers that are being owed about four months wages are just on government’s pay roll out of government’s misguided benevolence and they are being paid a certain percentage of their salaries every month. If really Okowa means well for good governance of the Delta State he should reduce the staff strength of local govern workers by 50 percent. Not necessarily by sacking them but redeploying them to other sectors where their services will make some sense. Teaching, sanitation monitoring, traffic control, tax collection etc are not well staffed. Earning salary from government should not be a bonanza in this era of very limited revenue.
What has Governor Okowa done to earn him the ignoble title of insensitive governor? This comment coming from a scholar is not only regrettable but highly laughable in the sense that this lecturer is either on a deliberate journey to misled readers or uninformed about recent events in Delta State ever since Dr. Okowa assumed office. Simply put, the projects Okowa has commenced and the many roads he has fixed in just one year is more than what his predecessor, Dr. Uduaghan did in his last four years in office. My guess is that Prof. Abel Diapkaromre is caged in an academic environment that does not permit him to know the rapid changes in the state. Infact, in most cities and towns in the three senatorial districts, Okowa has shown presence. One question please, when last did he visit Asaba? Are the roads not undergoing rapid improvement that befits a Capital city? What about Ugheli, Warri, Agbor etc. All these are been done with reduced revenue from about 15 billion naira monthly to just 3 billion naira in the month of May which he complained about not being paid. It is shocking that a Professor has categorized Okowa as insensitive. Indeed, I guess if his student does such an inappropriate analysis without facts and data, he would not hesitate to give student an ‘F’ grade. The truth is that our dear prof did not conduct any research before reaching his conclusions. In any case, I smell skewed politics.
I think the writer of this article should please cross check his information when next he was to discuss issues of public interest. Even the president of Nigeria does not have 2000 political appointees. If he had said 200, it would have sounded real but this is a great departure from reality. I think the Delta State University lecturer relied more on assumptions and fabrications than facts. In any case, one thing I very much appreciate about his remarks which he actually substantiated is the non functional publicity team of Governor Okowa. Indeed, it is important for Governor Okowa to overhaul whatever he assembled as his media team. It is disappointing that with the many assistants listed as working in his publicity department, he remains one Governor that gets about the worst criticism despite the many evidenced based accomplishments he attained in just a year. I watched a compilation his new projects recently on AIT and I was shocked that despite all these efforts, his media team has been unable to tackle the many half truth stories published about Okowa in Sahara reporters and other online media. The truth is that the Okowa led government is disconnected from the governed and this is a very bad trend for politician because that is what the opposition is beginning to use against his Administration. I live in Asaba but the only visible link most of us have with the government is only the recent efforts of the Delta State Orientation Department that has been rolling out messages to our telephone on activities of the Government. Most Deltans are highly unaware of what goes on in the state. I guess that was why Prof. Diapkaromre was able to fly his story in the media even with the many naked lies.
It is true that the Okowa led Government has many appointees of about fifty but in truth the appointments are really not as attractive as depicted by Prof Abel. Their salary is in the range of 200 to 250 thousand naira monthly and such does not even come with additional benefits with next to nothing budget allocation. I think it is just about the Governor’s smart design to run an all inclusive administration by making most of those that supported him during his election relevant. This is not to agree that the Governor is adopting a very appropriate measure but certainly this is not the drain pipe of the state’s resources. The major problem is the over bloated civil service courtesy of Governor Uduaghan that encouraged corruption in the employment process. A visit to most government office will sadly reveal the fact of four people doing the job only one person can do. This is really a very tough task for Okowa to address because as a politician, any attempt to sack the many unproductive staff of the government will earn him huge unpopularity.
Yes, the people at Delta Orientation is doing well by bridging the gap between the Governor and the electorate but there is need for them to also provide information on government’s programme and opportunities for many unemployed youths. On the media team, I want Professor to understand that information flow is key to assessing the performance or otherwise of any democratic government. In this era that of on line media, the work of information managers has been expanded and requires the engagement of many persons. Whether the work of the Delta media Team is producing desirable results or not I entirely an issue that can be analysed elsewhere. Nevertheless, I really do not think the Delta media team lacks capacity to deliver but what is missing is a well defined strategy to confront modern realities of journalism, otherwise Okowa will continue the knocks from the opposition.
Prof, in words you stated that “It should be noted that there are no sufficient accommodations of the staff on campus, thus many of them travel long distances to work daily. Being a multi-campus institution, DESUL lecturers shuttles between Abraka, Asaba and Oleh campuses and the university teaching hospital at Oghara to attend to their day-to-day activities. All these activities require money which sadly is no longer available.” I think these remarks of yours would require some form of expanded explanation because even if the Government had provided campus accommodation for all its lecturers (which is not feasible in any Nigerian University), there is no way these lecturers with multiple assignments and varied earnings would not travel out of their base to meet the demands of such assignments. Well, what you have done is to cry out that you are being owed wages for two months but how would disgracing the government put money in your accounts. Realistically, I do not believe that such a minor delay is really denial and it does not warrant the nature of abuses you poured on your Governor. As a matter of fact, it is on record that Delta State is seeking another bail out from the Federal government and I think such is meant to address issues like your delayed payment. A highly rated scholar like you ought to be in a better position to understand the difficulties state governments are facing. Adults are known to express patience in such times especially given that there is nothing that suggests that your situation will be permanent. Prof, just pray that happened to us in Benue state under the previous Governor Gabriel Suswam not be your portion.
I have studied the long story of the ASUU scribe from Delta State University and I think he missed it at the point he delved into the murky waters of Delta State politics by bringing PDP into the whole issue. Why join the issue of non payment of salaries with politics. What makes him believe that if APC was voted into power his salary would have been paid even with the dwindling revenue. Please Professor address your issues properly by constructively engaging the government. The media war you crave for will do Delsu University no good. It is really sad to imagine that even if Governor Okowa decides to go your way of aggression and ignore your likely threat of strike, there are many holders of Ph.D that will apply for immediate replacement. Please, let peace reign in Delta, the problem of the so called Avengers is enough for one state governor and the rest of us.
Titilayo Ukpokor , Ph.D (Private secondary school Teacher)
For me, this statement does not in any way reflect the facts about Delta state. The problem of the Okowa government is that it inherited so much liabilities from its predecessor. As such, I had expected a pressure group like ASUU would recognise the need to help address such by courageously demanding that the immediate past Governor Uduaghan should be investigated over allegations of corruption in his eight year Emperor styled rule of Delta State. Aside the Union Leader’s acknowledgement that the State resources have dwindled, he should also have known that the Okowa administration met gross financial mess with huge debts that may be difficult for the state to offset even in the next ten years. I boldly affirm that Okowa has started well but what most Deltans expect from supposedly knowledgeable persons like Professor Abel and his colleagues is to help in the agitation that Dr. Uduaghan should return our stolen commonwealth. The blame on Okowa is highly misplaced and improper. Let ASUU of Delta State University do a petition to the Financial Crime fighting agencies of Nigeria demanding assistance to recover money purportedly stolen by Uduaghan from the state. Certainly, if he puts in half the energy he dedicated to diminishing Okowa’s efforts, I am sure the EFCC or ICPC will assist in recovering so much resources that will enable the state meet all the demands of Delta ASUU including enhanced investment in the various campuses of the University. It is very unfortunate that the Delta state university cannot boast of having functional educational facilities yet we have very brilliant professors that lost their voice whilst Uduaghan was sucking the State resources dry. Let these lecturers focus on issues of common good than self interest. Evil can only thrive in societies where good men keep quite in the face of evil.
Professor, with due respect, I think you have spoken like a mediocre activist. Your lack of understanding of the Nigerian economic situation is quite dumbfounding. You must be living in the past. Just two months salary, you almost are threatening fire and brimstone upon Governor Okowa as if you do not know that this is really a period of ‘change’. Please conduct you advocacy wisely. It is wise you remember that you are in a state owned university.
Indeed, the silence on Dr Emma Uduaghan misdeeds is highly disturbing. This is a good reminder on the proper place for Deltans to channel their energy. Prof Abel and company best fits to champion such a noble cause than attacking a government that does not have money. Really, what magic do they expect from Okowa?
Prof, what is your referenced PLAN B? I think this would be withdrawing your services! Do not even imagine it as a viable option. Your students will suffer and your challenges will be increased because I will not be surprised if the Delta government sees it as an option to presently off load its burden on monthly wage payment which it is struggling with. If the truth be told Okowa deserves commendation over its resistance to retrench workers. With bogus staff strength of over 60,000 workers in Delta pay roll where and how would he find money to engage in developing vital sectors that require immediate attention in this economy that is almost tending to a recession? I really think Okowa should speak out on the many problems he is facing. I wonder how many people would understand that Delta State government had to borrow money from the Banks to pay workers salary in the month of May. These are the same banks that Governor Uduaghan thrust Delta state into gross indebtedness over very controversial transactions. I think it is even high time the state Governor tasked these lecturers to research on how to improve its IGR like the Lagos State did.
Jalo, you are on point! Most developed communities are what they are today as a result of studies and findings from University communities. This Professor certainly have preference for local Delta politics than engaging in research that would move his society forward. It is best he resigns and go into full time politics where he find enough time to discuss trivial issues and engage more in bias criticisms . Simple research would have revealed to him that Delta workers rank luckiest in Nigeria. Let him read about Kogi state and learn more about what what being owed salary really means,
God help us in Delta state,okowa came in when the state was so much in debt with the fall in price of crude oil and the low the IGR he saw on ground.Let pray for God grace upon our dear state because it may get even worst.
ASUU Delsu should have asked Ex Governor Uduaghan to pay them the purported wages due to their staff promoted in 2014 and 2015 when Delta was getting about 13 billion naira from Federal allocation than requesting a government that receives very limited revenue of less than billion from both Federal allocation and Internal generated revenue. I think this ASSU scribe is just learning activism but without applying commonsense.