The Accountant-General of Plateau State, Mr. Cyril Tsenyi, has said that the state government has been given N5.3bn bailout loan for the payment of outstanding salaries and allowances.
Consequently, Tsenyi said that the state would begin the payment of arrears of salaries and allowances owed civil servants in the state as from Monday (today).
Tsenyi told our correspondent on Sunday that the amount received fell short of the N10.3bn the state requested, adding that the shortfall would be paid as soon as all the necessary documentations were concluded.
According to him, Governor Simon Lalong had earlier set up a committee comprising of some officers of the state government, local government service commission and organised labour to ensure that the funds were utilised for the purpose for which they were intended.
He said that to ensure that the payment of salaries commenced on Monday (today), officers of the state’s Ministry of Finance and the office of the Accountant General worked through the public holidays to ensure that vouchers for the payment were prepared.
He said, “With the receipt of the first tranche of the bailout loan, we are good to go in ensuring that payments commenced on Monday. The salaries will be paid from Monday to Friday and we want to ensure that there is no hitch. The committee set up by the state government had already finalised all the modalities for the payment.
“We worked throughout the public holidays to ensure that all the vouchers to be used in the payment are ready,” he added
Tsenyi said that although the amount would not be enough to pay all the outstanding arrears, the state government would ensure that at least it pays substantial part of the arrears pending when the remaining funds would be accessed.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the state, Mr. Jibrin Bancir, who is a member of the committee, expressed satisfaction with the progress so far made in the disbursement of the funds and the concern shown by the state government.
He said, “We are satisfied with the arrangements so far. Remember this money is not in any account owned by the state government. The money is in an account managed by the CBN and the bank disburses the money directly to the beneficiaries.”
