We Used 85% of our revenue to pay salaries - Wada

Outgoing Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State has revealed that about 85% of the revenue that accrued to the state during his tenure was used to settle salaries, pensions and gratuity.  The Governor disclosed this to a cross section of journalists during a media chat that was organized as part of hand over activities to the incoming administration.

"For instance in 2015, revenue that accrued from federal allocation to the state was 40 billion, this was augmented by internally generated revenue of 4.7 billion.  Salaries gulped about 39 billion of that, Infact, The state had to access an overdraft of 2 billion to keep government running." he said.

The situation was made worse by the refusal of the federal government to release the state's bailout funds as a result of negative politicking during the last governorship elections. The governor said the state was among the first states that met the criteria set for the loan which included Exco and legislative approvals yet the funds were not released leading to the current situation where civil servants are now owed three months salaries. He also lamented that even the N10billion naira infrastructural development fund that was due to be released to cushion the effect of the dwindling revenue on capital projects execution is still being held back for reasons best known to the powers that be.

Capt Wada regretted the hardship hard-working people and their families faced in the last three months, saying he is personally touched but that unfortunately, the challenges are a direct consequence of the economic situation the country finds itself. He however expressed hope that the efforts of his administration will not be in vain if the funds which will be released to the incoming APC administration are used for the intended purposes which is payment of arrears of salaries and timely completion of ongoing projects for the benefits of all Kogi citizens.

He also used the opportunity to debunk the rumours being peddled around about salaries of political office holders being N1.6 billion naira monthly. he said that the salaries of political office holders was in the region of N150 million naira monthly while that of civil servants stands about 3 billion naira monthly.

Capt Wada also commended the teachers in the state for their commitment and abiding faith in the programs and policies of his administration in the last four years, said it was their support that led to the upgrade of physical infrastructure in about a thousand schools and improved learning conditions which saw students from the state excel in mathematics olympiad and several other academic and extra curricular contests in the last four years.

Capt Wada regretted the failure to capture some teachers by the payment template before the state's financial resources began to nosedive, described it as a sour part of the successes recorded by his administration in the education sector.

He noted that the last four years came with its trials and tribulations but with determination, focus, courage, support of the people and the grace of God, the mission to transform the state has largely been successful. "We have significantly expanded the revenue generating base of the state, initiated a lot of infrastructural projects, encouraged investments in agriculture and other areas".  Wada also added that his administration took public private partnership, public sector reforms, human capital development, youth and women empowerment  to a height never attained in the history of the state.