HAVING lost the last gubernatorial election to the PDP, Bauchi State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which is now the opposition party in the state has started playing its role as an opposition party alleging that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led administration has pushed the state into bankruptcy less than six months of its inception.
But the PDP in a swift reaction to the allegation described it as the ranting of a loser doing everything to be reckoned with after failing to perform when given the opportunity to do so in four years.
The APC in a press statement by its State Public Relations Officer (PRO), Adamu Jallah issued to Journalists on Tuesday decried that the state government now finds it difficult to pay monthly salaries as and when due but always giving excuses.
The APC stated that “It could be recalled that during the Gubernatorial campaign, the PDP had accused the APC led administration of expending N5.1 billion on monthly salaries of civil servants (State and local governments) without a convincing reason.”
“Ironically, within 100 days of assuming power, the same PDP cried aloud that the wage/salary bill of the state civil servants was over N6 billion and by then, no political appointment was made and the State House of Assembly was not inaugurated but yet, the PDP announced that the salary bill was already over N6 billion,” the APC further alleged.
The party added that “Within two months in office, the salary bill has reached an alarming and unbelievable amount of over N7 billion with only a few appointments made while those appointments into the civil service made by the APC administration and promotions of deserving civil servants were cancelled and excluded from the N7 billion claim.”
The party, therefore, claimed that the government is bankrupt but resorted to playing politics “by withholding workers salaries under the pretext of identifying ghost workers.”
But the PDP publicity secretary in the state, Yayanuwa Zainabari emphasised that only workers without Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) have their salaries withheld.
He however assured that every worker will be paid immediately he/she is verified as a bonafide civil servant who is on the payroll of the state.