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FG shuns plea to pay Lagos workers... rejects S�Court�s advice on salary payment
Tobi Soniyi, Abuja
The Federal Government has rejected the plea by the Supreme Court to release funds for the payment of primary schools� teachers and local government workers salaries in Lagos State pending the determination of a suit by the state challenging the withholding of allocations meant for local governments in the state.
In an affidavit sworn to by one of President Olusegun Obasanjo�s Senior Special Assistants, Mr. Bodunde Adeyanju, the government said that the action taken by the state in creating 57 local government areas was a flagrant violation of the 1999 Constitution.
The affidavit was filed on July 9.
In the affidavit, the President said that in as much as he appreciated the advice of the apex court, he was constrained to say �No.�
�It is unconstitutional and illegal for anybody to first dismantle the structure created by the constitution, put others in place before going to court to ask whether he was right or wrong in doing so,� Obasanjo said.
According to the President, the state got into financial mess because of its intransigence.
The apex court last Tuesday directed Chief Afe Babalola, Counsel to the Federal Government and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, to discuss with Obasanjo, the possibility of paying primary schools� teachers and local government workers in the state before it gives its final decision on whether or not it was lawful for the President to withhold allocation to local governments in the state.
The affidavit gave plethora of reasons why Obasanjo would not honour the apex court�s directive.
Obasanjo said that it would be unfair to ask the Federal Government to fund local governments, which were not recognised by the Constitution.
He also pointed out that Lagos might use the money to fund the new local governments since the Federal Government would not be able to control its use.
The President said that it would only release the fund to the state if it reverted to the old 20 councils.
He also told the court it was not true that teachers and staff of local governments were paid solely from federal allocation.
According to him, the federal allocation merely forms a part of the money from which teachers and staff are paid.
According to the President, Lagos State is very buoyant and can afford to pay teachers� salaries from its internally generated revenue in addition to money it receives from the Federation Account.
But the state, in an affidavit deposed to by its Accountant-General, Mrs. Josephine O. Williams, said it needed N3.3 billion to settle the salaries of primary schools� teachers and local governments� workers for the months of April, May and June.
In the affidavit, filed on Friday at the Supreme Court, Williams said the monthly receipt by all local government councils in the state from the Federation Account in January, February and March 2004 was N1.8 billion.
She averred that N1.1 billion was required every month for the payment of staff salaries, allowances and pensions in all public primary schools in Lagos State.
�The Federal Government has refused to pay any part of the allocation due to the Lagos State Government for the benefit of local government councils in the state for April 2004 and subsequent months,� she added.
She stated that as at March 31, 2004, there were 937 public primary schools in the state with staff strength of 27,218.
According to her, the average payment to staff of public primary schools in the state from the Federation Account for the months of January, February and March 2004 stood at N716 million.
As for council workers in the state, the average monthly payment to them from Federation Account for January, February and March was N368. 99 million.
She put the pensions and gratuities of all retired staff of public primary schools and local government councils at N63 million per month.
The Punch, Monday July 12, 2004
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