Southwest Governor Diverts N5bn Paris Club Fund, Settles Appointees, Lawmakers

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Expectations were high among civil servants and other workers in a popular Southwest State, Nigeria, when the sum of N5.6 billion Paris Club refund was disbursed to the state recently by the Federal government.

Expectedly, the fund was to be used
to pay outstanding salaries and
wages of workers. But many of them were
disappointed when it was learnt that
only N4.4B was used to pay
outstanding salaries only
while leave bonus, other allowances
and emoluments were left unpaid.

A government source told Global Excellence magazine that the state’s governor who has a particular unique outlook among his peers, settled the House of Assembly with N260m said to be for constituency projects but originally was a bribe to shut the lawmakers up as the race to the 2019 governorship election in the state gets keener.

And of the said amount, only N130m has even been released while the governor promised to release the balance ‘soon’.

Global Excellence magazine also learnt that Mr Governor whose state has produced notable leaders of Nigeria actually planned to use the balance of the fund to buy cars for and pay special allowances to his Special Advisers and Special Assistants who they said have not been paid since their appointments.

When Global Excellence magazine got in touch with the state’s Information Commissioner’s office, he was said to have traveled to the United States for medical checkup.

-Biodun Fariogun