Ortom Moves to Check Paddling of Teachers’ Salary

George Okoh in Makurdi

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has taken decisive steps to end padding of salaries of primary school teachers by the State Universal Basic Education(SUBEB).

Governor Ortom who met with local government chairmen, chairman and board members of SUBEB among others yesterday at the New Banquet Hall of Benue Peoples House, Makurdi, gave the local government council chairmen one month to carry out intensive physical verification to unmask the cartel behind padding of teacher’s salaries.

He expressed worry while briefing journalists that despite retirement of primary school teachers, deaths among others, the wage bill does not reduce but rather increases, stressing that the ugly trend means “the dead resurrects to receive salaries and goes back to the grave.”

The governor explained that if proper checks are carried out with the involvement of council chairmen, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Parents Teachers Association (PTA) among others, leakages and other unwholesome activities would be stopped to give room for more recruitment.

Ortom maintained that since the decision to engage 2,000 teachers in the primary school was sacrosanct, his government would do everything possible to block financial leakages in the sector to guarantee expected goals.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Kenneth Achabo, at the briefing, also presented a report on audited accounts of the 23 local government councils from 2015 to 2019.

The governor, while receiving the report, described it as a novel initiative and stressed the need for those in positions of trust to keep financial records straight so as to support auditors with facts and figures to do their job.