President Goodluck Jonathan has approved N4,705,368,635 as Christmas bonus to federal workers, THE PUNCH has learnt.



But the bonanza, which was usually paid to workers in a few ministries and agencies in December along with their salaries until 2009 when all MDAs were included, could not be paid before the end of 2010.



The President’s approval was given on December 22, 2010, via a letter with reference no: Pres/87/MF/182 from the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration, Mr. Matt Aikhiombare, and addressed to the finance minister.



His approval followed a memo by the Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, also dated December 22, 2010 to the President, reminding him of the annual payment of Special Overtime and End of Year bonus to all staff of the ministry, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and others.



The payment, he added, was meant to curb fraudulent practices in the management of government finances.



Aganga had noted that the payment started with the Nigerian Customs Service and the Federal Inland Revenue Service in 1994, as a special incentive to boost revenue collection and reduce loss of revenue due to fraud and other sharp practices.



He explained, “At the time, targets were set and staff of the two agencies were to get four per cent of monies realised beyond the set targets.



“The incentive was expanded to include staff of the ministry, Budget Office of the Federation and the Office of the Accountant-General, being supervisors of these revenue-generating agencies. This tradition has been in practice ever since.”



He added that in 2005, government approved that four per cent and seven per cent of the revenue generated by FIRS and NCS respectively should be retained by the two agencies.



However, the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget Office and the OAGF were left out, in spite of their significant contributions to revenue generation and expenditure management.



Aganga said, “Following this development, the ministry annually applies for presidential approval for the payment of the special incentives to its staff.



“However, in 2009, the concept was modified and extended to include some ministries and agencies. To this end, MDAs have made formal requests for the payment of the incentives.



“The total amount as compiled is as detailed hereunder: FMF, OAGF & BOF N1, 111, 398, 136 (74 per cent of request); Office of the SGF N207, 544, 256 (50 per cent of request); Office of the HOSF N386, 426, 243 (50 per cent of request); State House, N42,570, 291 ( 100 per cent of request); and other MDAs, N2,957,429, 709, totalling N4,705, 368,635.”



Investigations, however, showed that the non-payment of the bonanza to workers before the end of last year had raised concerns among workers as some ministries and agencies gave bags of rice and groundnut oil to their staff instead of the expected cash.



The ministries of Health and Finance; Joint Admission and Matriculation Board; Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation; Universal Basic Education Commission; and Central Bank of Nigeria gave rice to their staff.



A member of staff in one of the ministries told our correspondent that workers on grade levels 1-14 got rice and oil. He expressed worry that these items might have been given them in lieu of the cash bonus.



He said, “Instead, they gave a bag of rice and jar of groundnut oil to the workers in place of the money.”



Further, he alleged that staff of the Federal Ministry of Health collected cash as christmas bonus when Prof. Adenike Grange was the minister, but such payment ended with her exit.



“Our suspicion is that government has been releasing this money without it reaching us,” he added.



However, Aganga’s memo to the President stated that “the said amount would be sourced from servicewide vote.”



Apart from this incentive-driven bonanza, workers are still battling for the payment of the new minimum wage.



The Federal Government last week claimed that it had forwarded a minimum wage bill to the National Assembly to provide a legal framework for the wage hike.



However, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Rules and Business, Mr. Ita Enang, had told THE PUNCH that the House did not receive the bill before December 14, 2010 when it went on a Christmas break.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20110104354912

In as much as i support the increase in wages od workers and proper welfare of workers, I believe the rate at which govt is spending on recurrent expenditure, there is no hope for a better Nigeria in terms of the dillapidated infrastrucure, power etc.

GEJ sharing $1 billion on new years eve sums it all up.

God bles him for that

i have not seen any bonus at my working place, i was only given rice and oil last year

NA LIE JARE NA THE TOP GUYS WILL SHARE THE MONEY . ALL THE STAFFS WILL GET IS RICE AND GROUNDNUT OIL. SHIKENA DATS WHAT THEY USUALLY DO . INSTEAD OF THE CASH THEY JUST SHARE FOODSTUFFS. THIEF THIEF PEOPLE.

That was Xmas bonus.
Wait till you see the New Year Election-Rigging bon[b]oooo[/b]se as my Igbo friends would say.

Oga Jonathan. . . .ha fa na?

after xmas

other federal workers in the educational sector like universities and polytechnics no de ever get anything. even biro sef dem no de get.

Everytime I think about this nation, it leaves a horrid taste in my mouth, a foul smell in my nose and I sad vision to my eyes.
Y is this GEJ so stupid. I readd that he plans to borrow 33% of the recurrent expenditure for this year's budget. YES I SAID RECURRENTT EXPENDITURE. I am so angry with the Gov right now,
may they all die and rot,

Spending spree!!!

elections must be won, all possible people must be appeased

is it end of year bonus or xmas bonus? The title says one thing, the write up says another. Giving nigerians the penchant for being touchy, i will not be suprised if a riot breaks out cos sallah bonus was not given.

The said bonus will return back to their own pocket

why uncle Joe dey give money out anyhow? Even when capital votes is not fully funded? obj cancelled bonus in 2005, why bring it now when things are tighter. Jona you no try at all!

Also don't forget election is on the way

Giving out bonuses is the problem of this country but fixing the infrastructures

Where are they getting all of this money from?!!!!! I have never seen an administration spend so much money in such a short period in my life[b]![/b] This is ridiculous[b]!![/b]

A country where u ve more of sycophants as leaders than patriot

YAAAAAAAAAYY MO GBE OOOOOOOOOO!!!

Dora Akunyili did not time her resignation well
Well, what can I say. I guess this guys got it right when they said that Dora did not plan her resignation well : [url]http://www.wazobiareport.com/default.aspx/Dora-Akunyili-did-not-plan-her-resignation-well,-says-political-analyst[/url]
They even cited the Christmas bonus as the reason for their assertion

Guys why una dey surprise na? GEJ is simply borrowing money to pay out such bonuses. After all he'll not be the one to go bankrupt.

Ola edo:

Where are they getting all of this money from?!!!!! I have never seen an administration spend so much money in such a short period in my life[b]![/b] This is ridiculous[b]!![/b]

lol. .why do you think the Excess crude a/c is depleted. .and yet nothing to show for it!

Chase the Hooligans-in-Power (HiPs) out and vote in better candidates.

Remember to RSVP -

Register;
Select and sponsor(your candidates);
Vote;
Protect your votes;

Let this be our motto for this election period.
Copy and text the motto to as many as possible on your GSM (and/or email) and several times during the voter registration period.
One Man, One Vote!!!

abeg allow the guy jare,allow us humble civil servants get a slice of the national cake too

Ola edo:

Where are they getting all of this money from?!!!!! I have never seen an administration spend so much money in such a short period in my life[b]![/b] This is ridiculous[b]!![/b]

Thought i was the only one following Jonathans's spending spree. Its been absolutely phenomenal! If we get the records and calculate how much he has approved in form of contracts, grants, bonuses etc, in the last 6-7months you'll be dazed.
He's got so much resources available but very little is going into capital expenditures. Yet the ones announced are almost about all that we know until "Wiki wiki" begins to leak classified stuff. I wonder who's advising Mr. President.

If the economic climate in Nigeria was in better shape, then I would support this bonus for civil servants, because they deserve it. However, as nations are cutting back on their spending all across the world, Nigeria is continuing to waste money that it doesn't have. There is something morally wrong about the Nigerian federal government, with this "live for today, not for tomorrow," mentality. We should be investing in our nation's infrastructure, not giving civil servants or politcians bonuses. In addition, we should be investing in our children's future, by focusing on the education sector, because the children are the future in this nation.

Na wa for dis naija self .4 naija tins dey happen.

4.7 billion for christmas bonus. My God!!!. Nothing makes sense in that country. Soon they will say they are looking for money to fix roads.

tjskii:

abeg allow the guy jare,allow us humble civil servants get a slice of the national cake too

I do hope you are joking. . . . . .

Why do we Nigerians like to exclaim when we hear money is been spent.

Who said money is not been spent on infrastructure, I travelled Portharcourt to Lagos during the break, the Benin Lagos road has been a road I have been using since year 2000, the road has always been known to go from bad to worse with all the allocations Obasanjo and Anenih were doling out there, but this particular trip the road was not perfect but it was a lot better, work is going on this is the truth some sections were completed others were near completion.

Jonathan has budgeted almost a trillion naira for the educational sector in 2011 elections 3times the budget of defence, this has never happened in our history yet we cannot appreciate this.

In my opinion the issue to be discussed here is if the civil servants get this money, this bonus is different from the normal rice oil and chicken always shared, it is an end of year bonus to serve as an incentive to the workers, that this has come to the public domain it is left for us in the public to use the information appropriately and ensure that some fat cats dont just pocket the money as usual.

When Ringim the IG of police was made commisioner of Police in Bayelsa state in 2004, the Bayelsa state govt always gave a special bonus to the police force in the state as end of year bonus but only the big boys in the police force always shared this money, but that year Ringim declared that it should be shared across the rank and file, find out from any policeman that served in Bayels at this time.

This amount is always been disbursed but does not always get to the intended recepient, now we have to follow up and see that the civil servants get their share of this national cake.

Nigerians can never be satisfied. When has it become a crime to give bonus to your employees?

linsa01:

Nigerians can never be satisfied. When has it become a crime to give bonus to your employees?

How many companies have you heard of offering employees bonuses when the companies are running at a loss. This is not just any bonus, it's the stupendous amount involved. Can't you people get it?

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