By:
Yusuf Salihu Sansani
Majority of Tarabans are looking at the Taraba State House of Assembly as a loan approving institution and appendage of the Executive Arm of Government as members have been dancing to the tune of the Governor that members are only concern with approving Loans for the Governor and getting their percentages. Apex News Exclusive correspondent in Jalingo capital of Taraba State Yusuf Salihu Sansani reports that Ministries, Boards and Parastatals are operating without overhead and running cost but the Assembly is looking the other way and many unwholesome activities are going on in government Agencies without recourse to the repercurtion because the institution that supposed to raise eye brows have decided to keep mute which observers say probably due the fruits it is reaping from the whole show.
Tarabans say although last year some top government officials in the State Bureau for Local b for Government and Chieftaincy Affairs including the Permanent Secretary, the Accountant and Cashier, bank personnel and some contractors in Taraba State have been in the net of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC over series of alleged financial irregularities that has bedeviled the state and accused of withdrawing Twenty one Billion naira N21b in tranches over a period of time from the Joint Accounts of the State and the Local Government Councils without commensurate evidence of appropriate expenditure while at the same time heads of the State and Local Government Pension Boards in the State were also drilled by the EFCC Zonal Office in Gombe in connection with inappropriate management of entitlements of Pensioners in Taraba State which is also as a results of the failures of the State House of Assembly in carrying out its oversight functions accordingly and so much need to done by the Anti Graft Agency. Tarabans are now with the view that the state House of Assembly is not doing the checks and balances of the financial transactions and other activities of the State Government and is considered as a toothless dog that cannot even bark and not capable of checkmating the corrupt tendencies in Government Agencies in the State. It is estimated that the ninth Assembly under the Speaker Right Hon. Prof. Joseph Albasu Kunini has approved various categories of loans of over three hundred billion naira and permitted the use of the loans obtained and the monies received as succor from the federal Government which observers viewed as not properly utilized thereby negating the Authority the Nigerian Constitution gives to the Assembly on Government Financial Transaction and ensuring transparency but unfortunately in Taraba State the contrary is the case whatever the Government does whether good or bad it is right to the State House of Assembly. The ninth Taraba State House of Assembly under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Prof. Joseph Albasu kunini is accused of neglecting it’s primary responsibility of making laws and checkmating the finances of the State by monitoring the activities of government Ministries and Agencies, as a result the system is rotten.
In a chat with Apex News Exclusive in Jalingo a Veteran labour leader and politician Comrade Faruk Mohammed Kunini described the ninth Assembly in Taraba State as a washed out with no positive effect whatsoever on the people of Taraba State. Comrade Faruk Mohammed, the pioneer president of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees NULGE in Taraba State said the Present members of the State Assembly are disappointment and disgrace to the people of Taraba State.
The veteran Labour leader attributed all the woes and underdevelopment in Taraba State to the failure of the members of the State House of Assembly to properly carry out their statutory responsibilities. He particularly attributed the problems of Local Governments in the State to injustice by the State government who turned the finances of the Councils as a personal property which is swindled at will through the State Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs while members of the State House of Assembly who are quite aware of the atrocities going on turned their faces to the other side in spite of the existence of the House Standing Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
He observed that every member of the State House of Assembly is in control of all the affairs in their respective Local Governments at the State level most of the times the State Government liaises with the members in carrying out all activities in the Local Governments but according to him “the Members have become rubber stamp of the Governor it is the desire of the Governor they carry out not the wishes and aspirations of the people whether good or bad on the people”.
Faruk Kunini was however quick to note that the members of the Taraba State House of Assembly have no alternative than dancing to the tune of the State Governor because majority of the members particularly those of the ruling Party the PDP were all handpicked not elected and even the few members of the opposition APC are not helping matters as they all joined the wagon and dancing to the tune of the Governor probably because of what they are reaping from the loans they approved for the Governor and other anomalies going on in the various Ministries, Boards, Parastatals and the Local Governments which all have Standing Committees in the State House of Assembly which supposed to be carrying out Oversight functions in the various organizations from time to time which they only carry out when they need to enrich their pockets. The Veteran Labour leader cum Politician also bereted the Association of Local Government of Nigeria ALGON composed of all Chairmen of Local Governments in the State for conniving with the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in the underdevelopment of the Councils and the problems faced by the staff and the entire people of the various Local Governments because of the pittance they receive as Security votes out of the several millions of Naira voted to their accounts every month from the Federation Accounts which is not controlled by them but was also quick to sympathize with the Chairmen because like the Members of the State House of Assembly they were not elected but imposed so anything contrary to the wishes of the State Governor will be suicidal to their seats. Kunini a one time Governotorial Candidate in the State maintained that he is not against the Joint Accounts of the State and Local Governments which is Constitutional and has been in existence for decades but not happy with the way the Accounts is being handled exclusively by the State Government.
He said to make it worst for the Local Governments the Governor with the approval of the State House of Assembly secured a huge loan in the name of the sixteen Local Government Councils in the State mortgaging the finances of the Councils for three years which is the main reason that payment of salaries to local government staff remained uncertain every month because once the monthly subvention of the Local Governments are remitted in to their Accounts the banks automatically deducts the remittance of the loan for the month leaving nothing for the payment of salaries. That is why payment of Local Government salaries in Taraba State has been epileptic and rotational because the Government has to look for alternatives elsewhere every month to pay Local Governments in the State further compounding the predicaments of the councils and the Chairmen have no mouth to speak, if you visit any of the Secretariat of the Councils on any working day you will think that it is a weekend because they are all deserted.
He said however there is a little improvement in the payment of salary generally now but still salaries and pension are not paid promptly at the same time because even now salaries and pension are paid
either at the middle or almost at the end of next month and in intervals of days or weeks depending on the luck of Ministries, boards and Parastatals to be picked first. Comrade Kunini said that for Members of the Taraba State House of Assembly to turn back now and refused to approve loans of N14b and N5.5b respectively for the Governor “is just shading Crocodile tears saying that it too late to cry when the head is cut off that the Assembly has totally failed and nothing they will do to cleanse their shame at this wee hour”. He said to wipe out Corruption and corrupt tendencies at the Local Governments, Ministries, Boards and Parastatals in Taraba State first and foremost election at all levels most be free and fair people should be allowed to vote credible persons not imposition as was the case in the past so that all aspect of Governance will function effectively.
He noted that as far as imposition of elected officials continue they will not have the guts to challenge the Governor who single handedly brought them on board in collaboration with the Secretariat of the ruling party in the State.
Faruk Mohammed Kunini said genuine Autonomy in all ramifications financially, politically, socially and morally must be accorded Local Government Councils in the State so the State should handoff from all the affairs of the Councils whereby Executive Chairmen of the Local Governments will have full control of their finances to enable them serve the people effectively but a situation whereby a Council will be allocated one hundred to two hundred million naira from the Federation Account every month and a kangaroo Joint Account Meeting conducted by the State Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs with the Local Government Chairmen who at the end do not even know what happen with their monthly subvention after payment of Salary which is also done online by the Bureau through the accounts of the individual Staff of the Local Governments at various banks, in fact it is a sorrowful and pathetic situation for the Local Governments in Taraba State.
The Labour leader observed that the problem at the Local Governments directly affected Primary school teachers in the state because their Salaries comes from the subvention of their various Councils at the moment the Teachers are having backlogs of many months of unpaid salaries just like their counterparts at the Local Governments.
He accused State Governors of escalating insecurity in the Country by abandoning the thugs they trained and provided with all sorts of dangerous weapons and introduced to drugs during elections as these category of people resorted to violence and other dubious means of livelihood to make ends meet.
The problem of payment of salary which is epileptic in the Local Government has since reared its ugly head at the State level, payment of monthly salary apart from being delayed nowadays is now paid in ration sometime State Pensioners and Boards and Parastatals are paid and after some days salaries of those working in the Ministries are paid and thereafter a week or more retirees of the Local Governments will be paid and vice versa then after two or more weeks primary school teachers will be paid that is the experience of civil servants in Taraba State every month.
In fact it has been quite a long time when workers and pensioners in Taraba State received their salaries and pension at the same time which is negatively affecting the standard of living of the entire people of Taraba State where majority of the people depend on the salaries and pension of their bread winners where even traders wait for salaries to be paid to recover the credits of the wares and cash they loaned out to workers and their dependants to make further purchases.
