Civil Servants Bemoan Delay In Payment Of October Salaries

NAN recalled that Alhaji Shehu Garba, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, had on Tuesday attributed the delay in the payment of workers’ salaries for October to crashed computers.

 Some civil servants in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have frowned at the delay in the payment of October salaries five days into the month of November.

 Garba Shehu A cross section of the civil servants, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Thursday in Abuja, said the situation was an indication of what to expect in December. “With what is happening now, I think we should all brace up for December and start saving, least we may not have money to celebrate Christmas with our families,’’ Mr Evans Ekeadiwame said.

 Mrs Fanny Remilekun said there was more to the issue, adding that if crashed computers were the cause of the problem, it ought to have been fixed by now.

 NAN recalled that Alhaji Shehu Garba, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, had on Tuesday attributed the delay in the payment of workers’ salaries for October to crashed computers.

 Shehu explained that the computers crashed when August salaries were being paid, a development he blamed on unforeseen technical challenges. He, however, promised that payment of October salaries would commence on Nov. 3, following the restoration of the crashed computers.

 A correspondent who monitored activities at the Federal Secretariat, reports that most offices were virtually empty as most civil servants could not afford to transport themselves to their various offices due to the delay in the payment of salaries. A civil servant, Mr Felix Uzoka, who bemoaned the situation, said he had to borrow money to come to the office.

 Mike Onwusah, who corroborated what other civil servants had said, noted that the situation was getting out of hand. “I have resolved to use my car for transportation to make ends meet, a thing I had never done in the past. “I decided to do this because my children will not understand if I tell them the reason I cannot provide food for them is because my salary has not been paid,’’ Onwusah said.

 Some civil servants who decried the late payment of their salaries, said that this was not the change they voted for. They urged the Federal Government to expedite action to address the situation.