Eid: Uncertainties trail July salary nationwide over delay in Fed allocations
LGs worst hit as Muslims celebrate sallah
As millions of Nigerian Muslims are preparing for the Eid-ul-Kabir on Tuesday, there are signs that most state and local governments may not pay July salary before the festivities next week owing largely to the delay in federal allocations to the states and local governments.
Sources at the ongoing FAAC meeting in Abuja told this medium on Friday that they had just concluded the technical session which usually precedes the main allocation meeting by representatives of the Federal and State Governments.
“What this means in simple terms is that there will be a delay in fund disbursements to states and of course the local government areas for July. The earliest states and local governments will receive allocation for July is Monday. Automatically, what this means is that many states will not be able to pay salaries before Sallah. I can understand what this means but that is the situation from Abuja,” one of the sources said.
Another source said any state that is able to pay July salary before Sallah “did so only from their own purse and that should be commended”.
There are reports that Borno, Sokoto, and Kwara States have started paying July salaries ahead the Muslim festivity.
However, a source in the Ministry of Finance in Ilorin said “reports from FAAC meeting suggest that payment of July salary for local government workers and SUBEB staff may not be feasible before Sallah on Tuesday because even if the allocation drops on Monday, there has to be allocation meeting by all statutory officers of the local governments before the salary is paid.”
“The local government and SUBEB authorities have been running around to see what they can do but the money is really huge. But we are not losing hope as some miracle might still happen.”
Analysts have continued to say that most state governments and local governments cannot pay salaries once the federal allocation ceases from Abuja.
