Reforms: Bayelsa LGAs stop payment of N3.9bn to payroll fraudsters

Simon Utebor, Yenagoa

The Bayelsa State Government says that due to its ongoing public sector reforms in the state, the government has prevented the payment of N3.912bn to payroll fraudsters in its local government areas.

Speaking during a press conference, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the chairmen of the eight local government areas noted that the reforms had made them to reduce an annual payment of N3.912bn in salaries to the payroll fraudsters from 2016.

In their separate presentations, the various LGA chairmen said that there had been a drastic reduction in the wage bills of the councils since the commencement of effective implementation of the ongoing reforms in the state.

Presenting what they called, ‘facts and figures’ on workers’ wage bill from 2016 till date, Southern Ijaw had its wage bill of N201m reduced to N131m; Ogbia from N207m to N165m; Nembe from N127m to N99m and Brass, N119 to N101m.

Others are Ekeremor, N192m to N77m; Kolokuma/Opokuma, N109m to N77m; Sagbama, N171m to N130m and Yenagoa had its wage bill reduced from N194m to N147m.

He said a look at the difference in the figures showed a reduction in the amount formerly paid as salaries to teachers and workers of the councils by N3.9bn.

On the progress of the current reforms in the public service, Iworiso-Markson decried the magnitude of fraud perpetrated by fraudsters in the sector.

Iworiso-Markson also described the 70 per cent academic staff in the primary schools as unacceptable, saying that an arrangement where only 30 per cent of an institution were academic staff could not be productive.

The commissioner further said that the Seriake Dickson-led administration inherited N1.3bn council teachers monthly wage bill, which he said had been reduced to about N1.027bn in the last two years.

He noted that tremendous progress had been achieved in the implementation of the ongoing reforms without which, the local government system would have experienced a total collapse.

Iworiso-Markson, who also briefed journalists on the outcome of the 94th State Executive Council meeting, said henceforth local government councils would make contributions to the State Education Development Trust Fund.

He added that the state government decided that the third tier of government would be responsible for the training of primary healthcare workers, saying that chairmen had been mandated to retain the number of staff they could pay.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Education, Jonathan Obuebite, said Bayelsa had a total workforce of 15, 433, comprising academic and non-academic staff, adding that over 70 per cent of the total population in schools are non academic staff.

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