Federal workers celebrated Christmas on empty stomachs as cost of governance grows
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Federal workers up and down the country marked Christmas on empty stomachs, not having been paid their December salaries as the treasury has been stolen dry by the officials of a government that is so broke it now borrows money to do anything.
Yet President Bola Tinubu refuses to cut the cost of governance, rather expanding bureaucracy and expenditure and borrowing funds to pay for them.
Federal civil servants have previously complained the N35,000 wage award Tinubu promised them for six months to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal was paid in September but never since.
Many lamented they could not celebrate Christmas with the traditional merriment, heavy cooking, and visiting relatives and friends.
Workers in ministries, including those in the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHoCSF) and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), said the non-payment was not expected because it is rare to go through December without salary to celebrate Christmas.
The same fate befell workers in federal universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and associated federal institutions North and South.
Only workers in revenue generating agencies like Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), among others, got their salaries for December.
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Non-payment of December salary a rare thing
“Despite the general misgivings about previous administrations, I cannot remember anytime our December salaries were delayed,” one worker moaned to Daily Trust.
“With the way things are ‘tough’ in the country, we don’t even have savings. We were excited when they announced a 50 per cent discount on transportation, but sadly, despite the support, many people could not travel ahead of Christmas.
“How can we travel and enjoy the so called 50 per cent transport reduction, when we don’t have money in our pockets?”
Others added the delay in salary payment had a negative impact on their celebration and will also affect their plans for January when schools resume.
A lecturer at the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) expressed unhappiness, saying: “How can you be happy when you cannot make your family happy at this auspicious occasion?
“I cannot really comprehend where the problem lies, the government should come out and explain the real problem. The minimum expectation of a civil servant is to have his salary paid even if it is nothing to write home about.
“Some years back, apart from salary, some categories of workers got 13th month bonus, others got all kinds of interventions to support them at the end of the year and encourage them to do better next year. May we witness those moments again.”
Another lecturer insisted failure to pay salaries by the Tinubu administration is an indictment.
“There is no excuse whatsoever, to say the truth. They removed the subsidy, they said they have been saving [the subsidy] money since June. This is over six months but we rarely get our salaries before the end of the month,” he said.
“I got my November salary in the second week of December. Now that it is the end of the year and it is the Christmas season, we thought they would pay us around the 20th or 22nd.
“Sadly, they did not …. We only went to church, returned home and we are waiting for the public holiday to end so that we can continue with our life.”
A teacher at the Federal Government Girls College, Bajoga in Gombe lamented it was a dull Christmas.
“I managed and bought one chicken for the children, but we thank God for life. We are yet to get our December salary and that is how we celebrated our Christmas.
“Our prayer is that they should pay us before the end of the month so that we can put a smile on the faces of our children ahead of New Year,” the teacher said.
Salary payment anticipated this week
Mohammed Ahmed, OHoCSF Director of Communication, explained the office is not in charge of payment of salaries but something is being done by the appropriate authorities.
Bawa Mokwa, spokesman for the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGoF), said the process is ongoing and workers would soon receive their December salaries.
A top government official disclosed the delay is due to a technical glitch that is being addressed and workers would receive their salaries this week.