BENUE STATE WAGE BILL: NONE PAYMENT OF AND MATTERS ARISING PART III

Justin Gbagir Posted:
BENUE STATE WAGE BILL: NONE PAYMENT OF AND MATTERS ARISING PART III
Yesterday, Terver Akase, CPS to the Governor asked me who told me the States wage bill is 3.8 billion, I told him my source was the States budget and I also asked him his source for the 4.1 billion he said the wage bill was but have not received any response.
I quickly wish to state that the CPS is not the one that prepares budget for the MDAs neither is it the governor that prepare it. They rely on information provided by the civil servants. It is important to know from where they are getting the figures they are quoting.
THE BUDGET
In my Part I of this series, I gave out the budgetary estimates on personnel cost from 2009 to 2016. None of the budgetary estimates gave us the figure of up to 4.1 billion monthly personnel cost for the state.
In my Part II, I quoted Suswam's 2015 budget speech where he said the 2014 personnel cost from January to December, 2014 was 25,334,575,176 divided by 12 months to give one about 2.11 billion monthly personnel cost.
2016 AND 2017 BUDGETS.
In attempts to find the exact figures of the state personnel cost, I have painstakingly gone through the 2016 and 2017 budgets which are the budgets prepared by the Ortom's administration.
In the 2016 budget, the estimates for personnel cost is 41,034,361,610 divided by 12 gives one 3,419,530,134.16. When this figures includes Pension and Gratuity, the total is 45,934,361,610. When this figures is divided by 12, it gives a monthly wage bill of 3,827,863,467.5. (See pages 36 and 54 of the Benue State Government 2016 Approved Estimates, 1st January - 31st December, 2016).
In the 2017 budget at page 34, personnel cost is 47,369,638,699 divided by 12 months gives a monthly personnel cost of 3,947,469,891.58. When this figures includes Pensions and Gratuity, it is 51,315,588,332 divide by 12 gives one 4,276,299,027.66. As monthly wage bill. (See pages 34 and 35 - 40 of Benue State Government 2017 Approved Estimates 1st January - 31st December, 2017).
It need to be emphasized that this is budgetary estimates.
In order to finds out what could be the exact wage bill of the State, I took time to go through the 2017 budget from pages 41 - 233. The 2017 budget provides 'Approved Estimates 2016, Actual Expenditure January to June, 2016 and Estimates 2017.
I painstakingly added the 2016 Approved estimates for personnel cost of all the MDAs and arrived at a figure of 45,637,291,070 divided by 12 months gives a monthly bill of 3,803,107,589.16.
The actual expenditure from January to June, 2016 gives a total of 18,643,073,865.2 multiply by 2 gives a total of 37,286,147,730.4 divide by 12 gives a monthly bill of 3,107,178,977.53.
The Approved estimates for 2017 is 44,103,666,596 divide by 12 gives a monthly bill of 3,675,305,549.66.
Note: There might be inconsequential error in these figures because some figures from the budget were not eligible.
CONCLUSION
From the above analysis, the monthly wage bill of Benue State Government is between 3.1 to 3.6 billion and not 4.1 billion. I stand to be contradicted.
I noticed some irregularities in the wage bill of some MDAs. That will be a subject of discussion some other time.
I believe that the combined efforts of the Ministry of Finance, Accountant General and Auditor General Offices should be able to give us the exact wage bill.
This can be done within 1week. The Governor can so direct them to do so.
Failure to do so would amount to a deliberate and calculated attempt to hide the correct and exact figures of the wage bill from Benue people.
Finally, I have decided to be involved in this matter of the exact wage bill in order to contribute my quota toward finding a solution. This is part of my commitment to good governance in the State.
With my experience in Budget Advocacy since 2008 and representative of CSOs at Inter Ministerial Budget Defence in 2012 and 2015, for 2013 and 2016 budgets respectively as the then Chair of BENGONET, I will be failing in my duty as the representative of CSOs to comment on this burning issue.
I therefore owe nobody apology who might consider my engagement on this issue as acts of opposition.
Thank you all.