INCREDIBLE: BORNO GOVT IS BROKE * Projects abandoned, N18,000 M/ Wage discarded * Gov accused of failed promises, squanders over N500B in 3-years * Billions earmarked for politics, image laundering With the over N500 Billion said to have accrued to the Borno State Government, in addition to the N67 billion left behind by former Governor Ali Modu Sheriff in the treasury, there are very strong indications that the Borno State Government may be broke, as abandoned projects litter the state over nonpayment, while civil servants are grumbling over non implementation of the N18,000 minimum wages. This is even as Governor Shettima is being accused of failing to start, complete and commission a single project since he became Governor, more than three years ago, in spite of the hundreds of billions of naira that the state collected in the past three years. nationalTRAIL learnt that workers in Local Government Areas in the southern Senatorial zone are also spoiling for a showdown with the governor over discriminatory payment of salaries and wrongful dismissals from services, insisting on immediate payment and reinstatement of thousands of sacked Local Government workers across the state. Our findings reveal that while the Government and the labour union have been at daggers drawn over the non implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage contrary to the promises made by the State Governor, Kashim Shettima to the effect immediately after the 2012 labour uprising demanding for upward review of wages, contractors have besieged the Government House Maiduguri to demand for their payments. The contractors alleged that funds meant for their payments are being diverted to fund the Governor’s second term campaigns, which have started in earnest. This they alleged has caused them to leave contracts initiated since three years ago at various stages of abandonment for lack of payments to contractors. Investigations reveal that, although most of the contracts are being handled by relations, friends and cronies of the state governor, matters came to the heels when in apparent attempt to conserve funds, payments were made to select contractors, some of whom are suspected to be against Governor Shettima’s re-election bid. Our correspondents also observed that Executive Council meetings, which duties has been reduced to approving contacts, have become irregular as the Governor consistently avoids such meetings, to avoid pressures from council members demanding for their own entitlements, while some are said to be poised to query some of the contract award processes. nationalTRAIL reports that cabinet members are also heavily polarized over their individual political ambitions in 2015, as mutual suspicion had set them against each other, with the Governor contemplating the appointment of six additional commissioners to neutralize the divisions and boost the quality of deliberations said to have degenerated. Executive council members have in recent times resorted to anticipatory approvals for some contracts from the Governor as the Deputy Governor who hitherto presides over council meetings is said be hibernating in Saudi Arabia, where he has gone to seek spiritual recourse for his estrangement in Government. Some of the projects abandoned for lack of funds include the dualization of the Lagos Street, the road network in Bulunkutu, the legacy garden housing project, the 2500 State/Local Government joint housing scheme and the Teachers Village, all in Maiduguri, as well as the multi billion naira irrigation pilot project and the recently approved Maiduguri – Konduga – Bama road rehabilitation project. Equally abandoned are the Damboa – Chibok – Mbalala Road project, the Miringa – Garubula – Gunda Road Project, the Fikahyel road and electrification project, while the Maiduguri stadium Contract has remained in comatose, even as lack of funds seem to have stalled the expansion works at the General Hospitals Azare and Marama. Investigations reveal that the ministries of Education, Works and Health, under which most of the abandoned projects are found; last year overshot their annual budgets without requisite approval from the House of Assembly, while due processes were completely ignored in the award of contracts in the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Religious Affairs Finance and Poverty Alleviation. The Government also claims to have expended over ten billion of naira on security but with no concrete evidences, the Government has not initiated , completed and commissioned a single project since its inception, save for the five general hospitals built by the previous administration. People spoken to across the state confirmed to nationalTRAIL that unbudgeted hundreds of millions of Naira are being spend every day luring politicians into Governor Shettima’s fold, while the other sectors have been suffering, even as due processes in the award of contracts are being sidelined, with most contracts either not bidded for, not advertised or poorly gazzetted, and most of the companies executing them were not properly registered. Our findings also reveal that relatives, friends, and girl friends of some people in government were also beneficiaries of juicy contracts, including the supplies of some poverty alleviation equipment, like tricycles, generators, and even executing major contracts. In the meantime, Civil servants have been complaining that Borno remains the only state that has not made any attempt to pay the N18,00 minimum wages, even with repeated promises by Governor Kashim Shettima, to the effect that the hard fought minimum wage was going to be paid to them. Several negotiations to that effect could not yield results, as each time labour leaders were convinced on the need to give the government more time, no action was forth coming even when there were indications that funds were available. While no conscious efforts are being made to conclude any of the awarded contracts, at least for Governor Shettima to show as a piece of achievement for his second term campaigns, Government House sources confirmed to us that the Governor has been under serious psychological pressure, following senator Ali Sheriff’s visit to Maiduguri on Monday. Sheriff was in Maiduguri to attend to the needs of thousands of party supporters who have been crying out for lack of patronage because of their political views, where he gave out food items and cash worth N1 billion to Muslim faithful to cushion the effects of the Ramadan fast. shettimaSheriff had ordered commodity traders whose goods were rejected by the state government to avail such goods for his personal purchase to save the traders from unnecessary loss. While the Government battles to clear the myriad of allegations, provisions of billions of millions of naira were made available for the office of the Special Adviser Communications, outside the statutory provisions for the Governor’s Office, ostensibly for image laundering and other hatchet jobs. Described as an aberration, especially that the current occupier of the position is hired as a mercenary to stave off criticisms against the Governor, nationalTRAIL found out that some of the criticisms were engineered from inside the government to facilitate the release of funds under the guise of controlling the situations. Acting Commissioner for Information in the state, Alhaji Mohammed Bulama declined to comment when nationalTRAIL sought the Governments reaction to the allegations. “Kindly react to the allegations that the Borno state Government is broke, have not completed a single contract in 3 years. What is the relationship between Borno state Govt and workers over the nonpayment of the N18,000 minimum wages were the questions asked. The commissioner neither responded to nor answered calls put through to him by our correspondent.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 16:40:40 +0000
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