War of attrition is raging between the Imo State Government, led by Governor Rochas Okorocha and the Staff of the Twenty Seven Local Government Areas of the State following plan by the State Government to detail Agents who will go and pay the Staff of the LGAs.
Under this latest development, the Director of Accounts, and Treasurers in the LGAs will rather queue up to receive their own salaries, instead of being the officers to pay LGA staff as has been the case for years now.
Following intelligence report over this mode of payment of salary to LGA Staff, the National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, directed all its members to unleash mayhem on any person, or group of persons sent to the LGAs by Governor Okorocha to pay the LGA workers their salaries.
Yesterday, some LGA staff in the State laid ambush in the Council premises awaiting Okorocha’s payment-Delegates, who however stayed away, as the plan of NULGE may have filtered out to them.
However, Orlu Local Government Headquarter was under lock and key yesterday, as the workers in the LGA insisted that only the Council DAG or Treasurer can pay them.
The NULGA resolved not to accept any Ministry cheque, except the LGA cheque, which will authorize that the LGA Staff be paid through the usual mode of collecting their salaries.
Trumpeta learnt that the NULGE sees this mode of payment as a quiet way and gradual process by Gov Okorocha to obliterate the LGA system in the State, when other States are conducting Local Government elections, and abolishing joint account system with LGAs and States.
This Newspaper learnt that the Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji El Rufai recently directed that the joint account system be abolished in Kaduna State, which means Council funds would be going straight to the LGAs, without any tampering from the State.
Meanwhile, a source from Government House Owerri told Trumpeta that Okorocha is avoiding “ghost workers” being paid and hence the method to take the head count of all LGA Staff in the State.
However, NULGE is saying that even if that is what the Governor wants to achieve it is the Staff of the LGA that should do the “Head Counting” and “Salary for Hand” payment, and not Staff from any Ministry, as LGA is a separate tier of Government from the State.
