By Umar Muhammad Puma
The House of Representatives has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to within one week explain the utilization of salary bail out funds to State.
The House also directed its ad-hoc committee on bail out funds, to expedite action on it and investigate the payment of salary bail out funds in Kogi State.
These resolution followed a motion entitled “Urgent need to save the people of Kogi State” moved by Rep Karimi Sunday (APC, Kogi).
Rep Karimi while leading the debate at plenary yesterday, explained that the salary bail out fund is funded by the public finance of the federal government of Nigeria, as such, the parliament has authority to query the bail out funds disbursement and utilization.
Recall that a senior civil servant in Kogi State, Edward Soje, was reported to have committed suicide as result of the inability of the state governnent to pay him eleven months salary owned the state.
According to Karimi, the condition and situation of Mr. Soje is the lot of majority of the Kogi State Civil Servants both at the State and Local Government Levels and the State Government has refused and opposed any effort by any authority to investigate the payment or non-payment of staff salaries.
“If something is not done immediately, many more suicides will be committed by the frustrated Civil Servants”, he warned.
Contributing to the debate, Mrs. Nkiruka Onyejeocha among others question the conscience of leaders.
According to her, these states government have not been able to utilize the bail out funds earlier collected yet they are seeking for another from the federal government.
The motion was unanimously adopted through a voice vote by Speaker by the presiding officer Yakubu Dogara.
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