APC govs fault Okonjo-Iweala on unpaid salaries

Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

The All Progressives Congress has called on the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, to probe the individuals responsible for the inability of government to pay workers’ salaries.

The Imo State Governor and Chairman, APC Governors’ Forum, Rochas Okorocha, said this on Thursday.

He said that President Goodluck Jonathan and the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, must take responsibility for unpaid salaries and the poor state of Nigeria’s economy.

Also, two APC governors faulted the claim by the Federal Government that many state governments could not pay salaries because they did not prioritise the payment of workers’ salaries.

They included Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi; and his Osun State counterpart, Rauf Aregbesola.

Speaking in separate interviews, the governors on Thursday laid the blame for the inability to pay workers’ salaries on the doorstep of the Federal Government.

Okorocha decried a situation where state governments had found it difficult to pay workers’ salaries, maintaining that the President and the minister should own up to their mistakes.

The governor, who spoke on Thursday through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemedo, argued that Okonjo-Iweala should not have shifted the blame since the complaint of the inability to pay salaries was also coming from some of the Peoples Democratic Party-controlled states.

Okorocha said, “God has begun to do something for Nigerians. The man, Buhari, who is coming in now, is a person who does not joke with discipline. When you talk about discipline, it is all-embracing. He will bring financial discipline into the system.

“By the time the man takes off, most of these things would be corrected. When the man at the helm of affairs is disciplined, invariably, other people must follow. Have you asked yourself the issue of the missing $20bn? All of a sudden, it was linked to somewhere. Nigeria is a rich country because God blessed this country. It will only take a strong leadership to get things moving.

“Buhari must set the ball rolling. Nigerians know why they voted for him. Even though he has said he will not probe anybody, but in the current situation we are, when it becomes necessary, with all these monies taken away by individuals, he should recover them for the country. If need be, he (Buhari) should put some of them on trial so that others will be very careful.

“A few Nigerians cannot be holding the entire nation to ransom. Whatever it takes to recover Nigeria’s money, it does not matter whose ox is gored; he should go ahead and do it. He must deviate from the old system for this country to move forward.”

Mr. Festus Adedayo, who is the special adviser (media) to Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, said the Federal Government was wrong to pass the blame on state governments.

A statement by Adedayo on Thursday said that the fall in the allocation accruable to the states was responsible for the financial challenges being faced by states.

The statement read, “The Federal Ministry of Finance needed to be told the equivocation in its own statement. According to it, the FG had gone to banks in the last few months to meet its salary obligations.It also acknowledged that allocations to state governments had reduced by 50 per cent. Truly, the Oyo State government, which used to collect about N4bn, has had same reduced to a little more than N2bn now.

“Before now, we were paying our workers on or before 26th of every month. How do we meet our salary obligation of about N5.3bn with such colossal reduction?”

Reacting, Rauf Aregbesola said his administration had prioritised payment of workers’ salaries, adding that the state had been augmenting workers’ salaries with its hard-earned savings since 2013.

A statement by the Director, Osun State Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, on Thursday, said, “If it is a matter of priority, then Osun would not be among states that do not priotise payment of salaries of workers.”

Jonathan, Buhari hold secret meeting

Jonathan, Buhari

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday night met behind closed doors with the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari.

The meeting was held inside the President’s office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

That was the third time the two leaders would be meeting after the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Buhari winner of the March 28 presidential election.

The Wednesday meeting, just like the first one they had on a public holiday (Good Friday), was described as “private” and so it was not opened to journalists.

Buhari was said to have arrived for the meeting in a convoy of about four cars at about 9pm.

The meeting was said to have lasted less than 30 minutes.

Although there was no official communication on the meeting, it might not be unconnected with the ongoing transition programmes and preparation for Buhari’s inauguration on May 29.

At the end of their second meeting, Jonathan had told State House correspondents that a date would be picked during which he would conduct Buhari round the Presidential Villa before his inauguration day.

When contacted, the Director of Media and Publicity of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Mallam Garba Shehu, said although he heard there was a meeting, he could not confirm it.

He said, “I heard there was a meeting but I have no idea where or when it held or what was discussed.”

However, it was learnt that the little or no progress being made by the transition committees they both set up might be the major agenda of the meeting.

It will be recalled that the President’s Political Adviser, Prof. Rufai Alkali, had in a statement he issued in Abuja, on Wednesday told the APC that it could not stampede Jonathan out of office.

He accused the APC of failing to set up its transition committee long after the President had constituted his own.

In response, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, accused the presidential adviser of being economical with the truth.

This, he said, was because the President’s transition team had been stalling and refusing to meet with that of the president-elect.

The face-off, Mu’azu and Fayose

Fayose, Mu'azu

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Adamu Mu’azu, and Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose took to their Twitter handles on Thursday to tackle each other over the defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan in the March 28 election.

Their action came less than three days after President Goodluck Jonathan called on the PDP leaders to stop the blame game over his loss to the All Progressives Congress Muhammadu Buhari in order to reposition the party ahead of the 2019 elections.

It also took place just as The PUNCHlearnt from the Wadata Plaza national headquarters of the PDP that there was no plan by the party’s leadership to present Jonathan as their Board of Trustees chairman.Fayose had on Tuesday claimed that he had evidence that   Mu’azu   connived with the APC to ensure the defeat of   Jonathan at the polls. He went ahead to ask Mu’azu to resign.

But angered by the governor’s call and claim, the PDP   Chairman   dared Fayose, to provide evidence of the allegations he (Fayose) levelled against him.

Mu’azu said   that it was the hate campaign which Fayose targeted at Buhari that cost Jonathan the Presidency.

While daring Fayose to provide the evidence, he said, “Fayose said he has evidence that I, Mu’azu, worked for the APC. I hope it is not the kind of evidence he once said he had that Buhari was dying.”

Mu’azu said he repeatedly warned members of the PDP to run an issue-based campaign but overzealous supporters of Jonathan opted for hate campaign against Buhari.

Fayose was one of Buhari’s most vociferous attackers. He once claimed Buhari was too sick to rule and might die in office like former Heads of State Umaru Yar’Adua, Murtala Muhammed and Sani Abacha.

The PDP chairman said, “You will all recall that I warned members of our presidential campaign organisation to stop the hate campaign.

“I challenge Governor Fayose to come out with evidence that shows that I, the national chairman, worked with the APC during the elections.”

Mu’azu said it was unfortunate that Fayose was the one leading the call for his removal.

He recalled how he and other leaders of the party ensured that Fayose became the PDP governorship candidate in Ekiti State last year.

According to him, the same party leaders, including himself, helped Fayose to secure victory against the then Governor Kayode Fayemi on June 21, 2014.

“I, as the national chairman campaigned for Governor Fayose, defended him and was at his inauguration and will continue to support him and the people of Ekiti State,” he said.

However, Fayose, while also reacting on Twitter   berated Mu’azu for openly criticising him.

The governor said it was ironic that Mu’azu, who never attacked the APC during the campaigns, could be exchanging words with him on Twitter.

He said, “Disloyalty: A leader who takes to Twitter to slight a party member but never did the same with or to the opponent. God sees our hearts.”

Fayose said it was unfortunate that the PDP leaders could be exchanging heated words in public. He, therefore, called for calm as this was the only way the PDP would be able to survive as an opposition party.

The governor said, “The PDP will outlast many of us. The legacy of true politics is service to the people, loyalty to one’s team and a clear conscience before God.

“This is not the time for mudslinging but truth is never out of season. Be assured that the PDP will emerge stronger from all issues.

“I have seen defeat and I have seen victory. Nothing is dear to me now except true service to our people which is what politics should be.

“Defeat is never permanent, victory is never ending. The PDP will unite, mobilise and continue to stand with the people.”

No plan to remove Anenih for Jonathan

Meanwhile, the leadership of the PDP has denied propping up   Jonathan to emerge as the party’s BOT chairman.

Speaking in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, the National Secretary of the PDP,   Wale Oladipo, said he was not aware of a move by some members of the party to have Jonathan take over the post currently occupied by Tony Anenih.

A group known as the Concerned PDP Leaders, had on Thursday called for the dissolution of the party’s National Working Committee and the BoT.

It also threatened to form a faction if the NWC and BoT were not sacked.

A member of the group in Lagos said their   demands were   as a result of the poor performance of the party during the last general elections.

He said, “We want to breathe a new lease of life into the party and to do this, we must dissolve the BoT. We are planning to bring in Jonathan as the BoT chairman. The party’s constitution is clear on who becomes the BoT chairman.

“President Jonathan will automatically be the next chairman because our party’s constitution says former presidents can hold the position. Jonathan is the only former president we have in the party now.

“We will set up a parallel PDP if we do not take control of the party at the NWC and BoT levels. This means that Mu’azu and the incumbent BoT chairman, Chief   Anenih, must go,” he added.

But a member of the BoT,   Ebenezer Babatope, said the PDP leadership would embark on a systematic restructuring of the party and not on sacking or expulsion of any member now .

He said, “We have not got to that stage of calling for the removal of Chief Anenih as the chairman of the BoT but it is true that a former Head of State can be the BoT chair. President Jonathan remains the leader of the party because he’s the last Head of State the PDP has but we must do things systematically.

“The national caucus of the party, the BoT and the National Executive Council will meet very soon to ensure the review of the elections and we will ensure a perfect reconciliation. There’s nothing like a plot to remove Chief Anenih for   Jonathan, although nobody will oppose the President.

“The caucus of the party must first meet, followed by the BoT and then the NEC. This is when we will begin the reconciliation; we can’t jump any of the stages. Nobody will oppose the President but we have to do things in order because if we don’t, we are going to create more problems. The President as a man of order won’t go against orderliness.”

Babatope stated that those clamouring for the sack of the BoT   could not effect   a change.

He said. “We all have a share in the failure of the party. We should not single out some individuals for attack. This is the time to unite and put our house in order.”

Another member of the BoT,   Shuaib Oyedokun, also said he was not aware of the call for the sack of the BoT chairman and members.

He said, “I’ve not heard about that. I can’t comment on it because I’m a member of the review committee of the last elections. I don’t want to say anything that will show bias.”

However, a top source within the PDP in Abuja said that Jonathan could not emerge as the BoT chairman because “he (Jonathan) caused a lot of disquiet within the party.”

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that the PDP governors-elect   would determine the path the party would follow.

He said, “The PDP as presently constituted cannot offer any opposition to the APC. The newly-elected governors are the ones the party is looking up to. They are the ones who are expected to bring out money and mobilise in their respective states.

“The question is will our governors stand together? We may see some of them defecting.

“I’m also foreseeing the emergence of a third force within the APC. This force will feel aggrieved about the power play within the APC and it will pull out. It may not defect to the PDP. It is this force that will form the opposition in the country.”

Patience Jonathan now in Congo, says Presidency

Mrs. Patience Jonathan

The Presidency on Thursday morning broke its silence on the whereabouts of President Goodluck Jonathan’s wife, Patience.

The Media Assistant to Mrs. Jonathan, Mr. Ayo Adewuyi, in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja said the President’s wife is currently in Congo.

He said Mrs. Jonathan was in the country to join her colleagues from Africa for the celebration of the 30th anniversary of a non-governmental organisation, Congo Assistance Foundation, floated by the Congolese First Lady, Madam Antoinette Sassou-Nguesso.

Adewuyi however did not indicate when Mrs. Jonathan arrived Congo or when she is expected back in Nigeria.

He only said his principal was received on arrival by Nigeria’s Ambassador to Congo Brazzaville, Princess Onipede, in company of top Congolese officials.

The President’s wife has not been seen attending any public event inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja, since her husband lost his re-election bid in the March 28 presidential election.

She was conspicuously absent during the Good Friday and Easter Sunday services held inside the Aso Villa Chapel.

Mrs. Jonathan did not also join her husband for the funeral service held in honour of his top aide, Oronto Douglas, in Yenagoa last Saturday.

While she voted alongside her husband in the presidential election in Otuoke, Bayelsa State, she stayed back in her home state, Rivers, during the April 11 governorship election.

She had expressed fears ahead of the elections that she would be thrown into prison if Muhammadu Buhari wins the election.

The Presidency had so far kept mute on her whereabouts, therefore, giving room for speculation.

Adewuyi’s statement read, “First Lady, Dame Patience Faka Jonathan, is in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, joining other African First Ladies for the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of Congo Assistance Foundation, an NGO of Congolese First Lady, Madam Antoinette Sassou-Nguesso.

“The Foundation established in 1984 has engendered social action in the areas of health, education, skills acquisition in favour of indigent people of Congo.

“Dame Patience Jonathan runs similar organisation in Nigeria, the Aruera Reach-out Foundation which also focuses on the uplift of women and children, the needy and imprisoned.

“The First Ladies of Benin Republic, Senegal, Mali, Tchad, Niger, Guinea Conakry are also in Brazzaville for the grand finale of the week-long programmes, during which a National Centre for Sickle Cell Disease was inaugurated.

“Dame Patience Jonathan was received on arrival by Nigeria’s Ambassador to Congo Brazzaville, Princess Onipede, in company of top Congolese officials.”

Lionel Messi just happened' - Henry lauds Barcelona star's masterclas

The Argentina international scored twice and laid on an assist for Neymar as Luis Enrique's side ran out comprehensive 3-0 winners over German champions Bayern Munich.

Thierry Henry lavished praise on Barcelona forward Lionel Messi after the Argentine inspired his side to a 3-0 Champions League semi-final first-leg win over Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

After a breathless first half at Camp Nou, Messi scored twice before setting up Neymar for a potentially vital third in injury time.

Messi's second – a delicate chip over Manuel Neuer – came at the expense of Jerome Boateng, who slipped as he tried to thwart the forward, and Henry was left bewitched by the 27-year-old's performance.

"Once again, how many times [are] we going to say that Lionel Messi just happened? That's just what happened tonight," Henry, who won the 2009 Champions League with the Argentine, told Sky Sports.

"I think, as we talked about, Bayern didn't approach the game the right way at the beginning, but in the second half there wasn't a lot between the two teams. But then Lionel Messi decided to win that game.

"Although you have to give a lot of credit to Dani Alves on that first goal because he got that ball back.

"But Lionel Messi is just superb. How many times are we going to find ourselves being in that situation and talking about him? He wanted to win that game and he did it again."

Mascherano: Messi impossible to describe

The Barcelona defender hailed his team-mate after helping make it a miserable Camp Nou return for Pep Guardiola.

Javier Mascherano conceded Lionel Messi was "impossible to describe" after his fellow Argentine putBarcelona on the brink of the Champions League final.

Messi scored twice in the final 13 minutes and then laid on a third for Neymar as Barca beat Bayern Munich – and former coach Pep Guardiola – 3-0 to take a significant step towards the June showpiece in Berlin.

Mascherano told Sky Sports: "We have Messi so it's an advantage for us. He's a player that's impossible to describe. You have to watch him."

The former Liverpool midfielder felt Guardiola's tactics played into Barca's hands, adding: "We knew that Pep would try to win in any stadium. They came to press higher and sometimes when you press higher you take risks. We know that we have people up front with quality.

"It was a tight game, difficult, but we had the best chances to score. We played the game we wanted to play so we are happy.

"We know how difficult it will be in Germany so we have to maintain our mentality and do our job."

Bayern held out for 77 minutes before Dani Alves dispossessed Juan Bernat, fed Messi and the four time Ballon d'Or winner did the rest with a low shot which beat Manuel Neuer at his near post.

Messi added a brilliant second before playing in Neymar to run through and slot the ball coolly under the advancing Neuer in stoppage time.

"We were lucky to score, we found some spaces to play on the counterattack," said Mascherano. "It's important that when we drop deep we have the players we have, like Neymar, [Luis] Suarez and Messi."

American fans sue Pacquiao over injury

Manny Pacquiao

Two Nevada men filed a class-action lawsuit against Manny Pacquiao on Tuesday, seeking millions in damages because they say he fraudulently concealed a shoulder injury before his defeat to Floyd Mayweather, AFP reports.

It is just the latest fallout from Mayweather’s victory in Las Vegas on Saturday in a unanimous decision, with Pacquiao saying afterwards that the shoulder complaint hampered his performance in the welterweight world title showdown.

The plaintiffs argue that by failing to go public with the injury before the feverishly anticipated bout, the Philippine icon and his camp violated the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

The suit filed in a US District Court in Las Vegas names Pacquiao, his manager Michael Koncz, promotional company Top Rank and Top Rank chairman Bob Arum and president Todd duBoef.

According to court documents available online, the lawsuit claims that when plaintiffs Stephane Vanel and Kami Rahbaran – who bought tickets, forked out pay per view fees or bet on the fight – the defendants “knew and had full knowledge and information that defendant Pacquiao had been seriously injured and was suffering from a torn rotator cuff.”

“Defendants further know that such injury would severely affect his performance,” the lawsuit says.

“None of the defendants informed or apprised the public or even the Nevada Athletic Commission about the injury to defendant Pacquiao.”

The clash between Pacquiao and Mayweather at the MGM Grand Garden Arena was billed as the “Fight of the Century.”

It’s certainly set to go down as the most lucrative bout in history, with possible revenue of $400m.

That could include as many as three million pay-per-view purchases, at about $100 each.

The bout went the full scheduled 12 rounds, Mayweather easily winning on the judges’ scorecards to take his perfect record to 48-0.

After the fight, Pacquiao and Top Rank revealed the 36-year-old had been injured in training camp some three weeks earlier.

They said the boxer had been cleared by doctors to fight, although they had expected him to be able to take an anti-inflammatory injection on fight night, but the Nevada State Athletic Commission ultimately denied him.

Lagos not immune to harsh economic realities ─ Fashola

Governor Babatunde Fashola

The Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola says the state is not immune to the current economic realities that have made it impossible for some state governments to pay salaries of workers.

Fashola spoke on Wednesday at the public lecture of the Institute of Directors of Nigeria, which also included the inauguration of a book, ‘Example: The Era Of Babatunde Raji Fashola as Governor of Lagos State’, edited by the Editorial Board Chairman of The Nation, Mr. Sam Omatseye.

Fashola explained that while some states were owing staff salaries for several months, Lagos could afford to pay its workers because of the dedication and commitment of his team, who in the last eight years had worked hard to deliver qualitative service to the people.

He said, “In contemporary times, Lagos, like all states, is not immune to the current economic realities of dwindling revenues. However, by hard work and commitment, it is insulated from some of the consequences, such as unpaid salaries of public servants.”

He explained that the monthly internally generated revenue and allocation from the federation account were not enough to meet the demand of over 21 million residents in the state, adding that the government maintained a healthy reputation that gained confidence of investors because it had constantly met its financial obligations.

The governor said the state would continue to wax stronger, saying all the established institutions were strong, with a motivated workforce.

Fashola added that the government had left a development plan from 2012 to 2025 to address the remaining challenges of rail, water supply, wastewater and sewage treatment, tourism expansion, residents’ registration, technology development and many more.

The Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, said Fashola had made a success of the foundation that was built by his predecessor, Bola Tinubu.

The editor of the book, Omatseye, said the decision to write it was informed by the good works of the governor.

Soyinka denies anti-Igbo comment, Harvard to post lecture video online

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka

The Harvard University Hutchins Centre for African and American Research in the United States has said that it will release the video of the lecture delivered by Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, within a week.

This was contained in an email reply to one of our correspondents on Soyinka’s alleged comments that he labelled Igbo as people who voted in the last general elections based on their “stomach.”

Some online media had quoted Soyinka as saying Igbo were politically naive while delivering a lecture titled, “‘Predicting Nigeria, Electoral Ironies,” at the institution.

He was quoted as saying “The Igbo are probably the only group of Nigerians that you can predict with great accuracy whom they will vote for in an election, because they tend to put their votes where their stomachs take them; suffering as it were, from incurable money-mindedness, as they would stop at nothing in their quest for personal financial gain.”

However, Soyinka said in a statement on Tuesday that it was unfortunate that people could tell lies against him.

The playwright described those who believe the report as morons.

He said the entire lecture was recorded on video and anyone who was interested could access it on the Internet.

He said, “I have just read a statement attributed to me on a news outlet, evidently one of the Internet infestations. My lecture at the Hutchins Centre, Harvard University, was video recorded. Anyone who believes what I am alleged to have said must be a moron – repeat, a moron.

“It is demeaning, sickening and boring to have to deal with these cowards who cannot fight their own battles but must fasten their imbecilic pronouncements on others. Only the mentally retarded will credit this comment attributed to me regarding the Ndigbo voting pattern in the last elections.

“I strongly suspect the author of this despicable concoction, and may make a further statement, once the source is verified.”

The Harvard centre, has however, stated that it will post the video online. The institution, however, said it would not release transcripts of Soyinka’s lecture.

The email read, “We expect the recent Wole Soyinka talk to be posted via video on the Hutchins Centre website within a week. However, transcripts of the talk will not be provided. Thank you for contacting the Hutchins Centre.”

Unpaid salaries, FG absolves itself from blame.

Coordinating Minister for the economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

The Federal Government on Wednesday absolved itself of blame in the inability of some state governments to pay their workers’ salaries.

It said the governors of such states should be blamed for the development in their states because they were told through the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee to make the issue of wage a priority.

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said this in a statement by her Special Adviser on Communications,   Paul Nwabuikwu.

The statement was necessitated by the All Progressives Congress governors’ claim that the negative manner the outgoing Goodluck Jonathan administration was running the economy had made it difficult for them to pay salaries regularly.

But Okonjo-Iweala said that despite the 50 per cent drop in gross federally collectible revenue, the Federal Government had made the issue of workers’ salaries a top priority in order to ensure that the “people do not feel the negative impact of the revenue drop on the economy.”

For instance, the minister said that contrary to the “misinformation being put forward by certain governors to the effect that federal workers are being owed, staff salaries at the Federal level are up-to-date.”

She said in the five paragraph statement that the states, being one of the three tiers of government that receive monthly allocations from the Federation Account, should be blamed for their predicament.

The statement read, “This is to clarify the misinformation put forward by certain governors to the effect that Federal workers are being owed salaries.

“This is incorrect. Staff salaries at the Federal level are up-to-date; workers have received their April salaries.

“Regarding difficulties in salary payments, certain governors are trying to blame the Federal Government for their predicament. This is wrong. They had been told through the FAAC to prioritise salaries but they chose not to do so, hence the backlog that some states are experiencing.

“The 50 per cent drop in revenues simply means that salaries should be prioritised.   The Federal Government should not be blamed for avoidable mistakes made at the state level.”

The APC governors   had during a meeting with the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, in Abuja on Tuesday, expressed frustrations about their inability to pay workers’ salaries.

They therefore appealed to Buhari to consider a bailout plan for all the 36 state governments after his inauguration on May 29.

They said, “One of the issues that became of concern to all of us is the state of the Nigerian economy which is really in a bad shape.

“We have come to notify the incoming president of the challenges ahead of him. As it stands today, most states of the federation have not been able to pay salaries and even the Federal Government has not paid April salaries and that is very worrisome, by May and June, that (salaries) will be in cumulative of three months.

“We wonder with the huge expectation of Nigerians and people who have voted us into power, we are hoping that the president-elect will do everything humanly possible to bring about a bailout not only for the states but the Federal Government, at least for people to get their salaries and turn around the economy.”

The Nigeria Labour Congress had on April 28, insisted that state governors must pay outstanding salaries before the May 29 handover date.

The factional Deputy President of the NLC,   Peters Adeyemi, said   at the ninth National Delegates conference of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria in Abuja, that workers had commenced the campaign to prevail on the governors to pay outstanding salaries before   May 29.

The National Administrative Council of the NLC had on March 19, 2015 set up a committee to   compel state governments to pay over eight months salary arrears owed workers.

The congress had on December 31, 2014 said that 11 states owed workers salaries.

Adeyemi said that workers should not be made to bear the brunt of the mismanagement of the economy as they were not part of those who looted the treasury.