THE Rivers State House of Assembly appears to be on a head-on collision with the state Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, over civil servants’ unpaid salaries.

The lawmakers, who expressed shock at the contrasting reports on the unpaid salaries of workers and the state’s economy, summoned nine of the governor’s aides to appear before the House by 10am on Tuesday (today) to make clarification on the issues.

Those invited, according to the lawmakers who sat on Monday, are commissioners for Information, Finance, Tourism, Health, Power, Works, Agriculture, Budget and Transport.

Also, heads of ministries, departments and agencies summoned by the House include the Accountant-General, Chairmen of Board of Internal Revenue, Rivers State Assembly Service Commission and Secondary School Management Board.

This will be the first time the House would summon nine of the governor’s aides to give explanation on the state of Rivers’ economy and unpaid workers’ salaries.

The House had observed that while the state government was insisting that it had paid salaries of civil servants up to March 2015, there were reports that were contrary to such claim.

Meanwhile, the state House of Assembly has suspended three local government caretaker committee chairmen.

The lawmakers said the suspension became necessary following reports of financial recklessness and insecurity within the chairmen’s council areas.

Those suspended are Cassidy Ikegbidi (Ahoada East), Ojukaye Flag-Amachree (Asari-Toru) and Derick Mene (Khana).

An ad hoc committee was immediately set up to investigate allegations against the affected council chairmen.

However, prior to the assembly’s decision to summon the commissioners and heads of MDAs, the Deputy Leader of the House, Mr. Nname Ewor, had during the 169th legislative session presented two motions.

Ewor, who represents Ahoada East Constituency 1, had raised the alarm over the level of insecurity and mismanagement of public funds, adding that the situation was common in the three affected local government areas.

The lawmaker said, “In these three councils, human lives have been rendered insignificant and financial frugality has been jettisoned to the waste bin. The local government areas are drifting to the Hobbesian State of Nature.”

Also, the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Leyii Kwanee, explained that the decision of the House was not aimed at witch-hunting anybody.

Kwanee, who presided over the sitting of the House, expressed worry that reports on the state’s economy was not encouraging.

He added that the development necessitated the invitation of some top government officials to the House for some explanations on the issue..

“As an arm of government, we are not out to witch-hunt the executive. But we are out to strengthen things.

“You are aware that the seventh Assembly is gradually coming to an end. I want to tell you that it is better started than never. We have been seeing a lot of conflicting reports.

“The other day, the Commissioner for Information (Mrs. Ibim Semenitari) was on air saying that they (workers) have been paid up to March. So, we feel very embarrassed as an arm of government.”

Describing the motion on suspension of the caretaker committee chairmen as timely, Kwanee pointed out that the council chairmen should be held accountable for whatever happened in their various areas.

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Obanakrubo • an hour ago
Gov Ameachi was the Campaign Director/Chairman for Buahri's APC. It is unfortuinate that this fool diverted the Rivers State Funds to APC Campaigns and also funding of Agricultural equipemnts in Sokoto State all in the aim of securing a position in APC. Now that he has squandered the Rivers State funds for the APC and have worked so tirelessly to take away the Presidency from his back yard, what is next for Ameachi

Adamu Obanakrubo • 23 minutes ago
Yes brother the money is shared at the centre (FG) to all states and no state governor spends their state money in other Nigerian states except those in the south and East as Amaechi and Okorocha building polytechnics in kano and zaria etc etc with staff quarters, hostels all using Imo state people's money. Then some of those who do not really know them are praising them as if it is a favour for the people to have them as governors; Funding all the campaign for buhari lavishly with poor people's money while basic salaries are not paid and increments never made as they ought to be.

Impeachment? With just 17 days to go?
Embezzlement must have beclouded their sense of reasoning.

True, there is no type of water ameachi can use to bath himself clean from any act of curruption,but the question is how come the legislators just found their voices to challenge ameachi and the chairmen of LGAs on their office code of conductare they trying to romance the incoming GOVT led by wike......and if there is any LGA to be probe of wrong doing okrika area should be the first name to start with.

All lies. even the clueless one with all his federal 'mighty' according to prof Pat Jona, couldn't impeach Amaechi's poo. is it now after jointly defeating those who stole Soku oil ,deny Rivers world bank sponsored water project n those who refused to implement UNEP report on Ogoni etc that they would want to impeach ? Dream on OP . After the March 28th n April 11th heavy defeats of PDP ,we understand that saTANoids like you are still being befuddled by the Amaechi blow n still don't wanna wake up to the reality that Dakuku Peter n not some wicked fellow is the next governor of Rivers.

APC govs fault Okonjo-Iweala on unpaid salaries MAY 8, 2015 : TUNDE ODESOLA AND CHUKWUDI AKASIKE 275 Comments Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala | credits: blogs.cfr.org 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.” Copyright PUNCH. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. Contact: editor@punchng.com

Babacele:

APC govs fault Okonjo-Iweala on unpaid salaries
MAY 8, 2015 : TUNDE ODESOLA AND CHUKWUDI
AKASIKE
275 Comments
Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala |
credits: blogs.cfr.org
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.”
Copyright PUNCH. All rights reserved. This material,
and other digital content on this website, may not
be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed in whole or in part without prior
express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: editor@punchng.com

TRASH.

Ameachi? Among the first to break ranks with the East/South in preference of an old man who was a coupist.

Then used and dumped by Tinubu and his Fulani business partners

And now, no where.

Amaechi can be impeached..he is living dangerously.

this man too dey show himself i pity for him children

robot tit.....how market nau?

I smell lies.....









anyway...










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Amaechi is a worthless Governor and a mistake of a leader in Rivers State and the entire Niger Delta/Lower Niger.

Those stewpid law makers should stfu! So it's now they found their voices? They are incredibly stew.pid in fact. Obviously, they have waited endlessly for their master amaechi to shake out what is left of the states treasury for them to share before the next dispensation, but alas, amaechi is not playing ball because actually, the treasury is empty!! Amaechi has spent everything on Buhari's campaign and siphoned the rest into his overseas account!

Oooh They just realized what should have been done a long time Ago. SMH. We don't want impeachment.....Pay our salaries.

Amaechi will be impeached and heavens will not fall.
A disgrace called a governor
Worthless fellow

this na talk!

TheOnlyWiseMan:

TRASH.

the only wise man indeed!