Lagos—Professor Sylvester Monye, who served as special adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on monitoring and evaluation has distanced the Jonathan administration from the failures of the Osun State government to pay salaries, saying Governor Rauf Aregbesola chose not to pay.
Speaking on a live Channels Television interview monitored in Lagos yesterday, Monye said Governor Aregbesola, like other governors was advised by the Jonathan administration to prioritise salary payments but chose not to in preference of payment of contractors and other services.
He said: “When the prices of crude started falling, the then minister of finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, called a meeting of commissioners of finance to advice that salaries should be made first line charge, that is, if you do not pay salaries first before you embark on any activity, you will have difficulties because revenue is coming down. That was also communicated to the governors: prioritise salary.”
“Therefore, no state governor has any business talking of non payment of salaries because they have continued to receive money from the Federation Account.”
Asked on the allegations raised by Aregbesola against the Jonathan government of running the economy aground, he said: “Jonathan administration was holding his money? Or he couldn’t pay because he couldn’t prioritise salaries? It was his decision not to pay salaries.”
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/06/aregbesola-debtor-governors-chose-not-to-pay-monye/#sthash.cAMW9J3h.dpuf
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