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LIFE in Nigeria now has become very short, brutish and unpalatable. The hardship resulting from the economic blues the country has been facing since the decline in oil revenue has been made worse by the current fuel scarcity brouhaha. This is in addition to the massive salary arrears being owed workers in many states of the federation.

What sensible reason can be given for these avoidable economic shenanigans which have caused a lot disquiet in the country? The short answer is myopic leadership. The inability of the state and federal governments to get their priorities right is what is heralding this current quagmire. The governors are trying woefully to extricate themselves from the fact that they could not pay salary to workers. They All Progressives Congress governors have ineptly and unashamedly tried to blame the federal government for failing to fulfill their main obligation to workers in the states who have kept their own part of the bargain. Did the federal government spend the states’ revenue from the federation accounts allocation committee? Of course, no.  That is why the federal government, on the other hand, is holding the governors responsible for mismanaging the funds available to them and not making paying workers’ salary a priority.

It is indeed really a shame that an oil producing state like Rivers, which gets a large chunk of money from the government, is owing salary and pension arrears. The annoying thing is that the pension money in most cases is as little as N2000. Can anyone imagine the kind of poverty albeit squalor someone who is being paid N2000 every month in modern day Nigeria is living in not to talk of when the pitiable amount is not paid at all for three months. This is most inexcusable and reprehensible on the part of the state governor who subjects the pensioners to this abject poverty.

Again, what did the debtor state governments do with the monthly allocation money from the federation account? Why are they owing? The answers can be found in the Realnews cover story for this week entitled: Looming Crisis over Unpaid Salaries. It was written by Olu Ojewale, our general editor. Enjoy it.

Maureen Chigbo

Editor

Email: mechigbo@yahoo.com  |  mechigbo@realnewsmagazine.net

Tel: +234 8033487603, 8052528603

— May 18, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT

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