The governor of President Muhammadu Buhari's home State, Katsina, Aminu Masari, lied to the president to get more than N11 billion bailout supposedly to pay workers' salary arrears, PREMIUM TIMES reports.
Gov. Aminu Masari
Reports from Premium Times reveal that the Governor of Katsina, Aminu Masari allegedly scammed President Muhammadu Buhari of a whooping sum of over N11 billion bailout supposedly to pay workers’ salary arrears. The accused governor did this by feigning insolvency.
It should be recalled that Katsina State applied as one of the 27 states in need of bailout from the Federal Government to pay workers owed salaries for months. In a letter to the speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, titled: “Bailout on Outstanding Salary for Workers of the State and Local Governments” with number S/SGKT/154/3 dated August 26, 2015, Mr. Masari said when he took office on May 29, his government inherited two months outstanding salary of workers of the state and local government from the previous Ibrahim Shema administration.
See the contents of his application:
“I would like to request for the Honourable House’s consent for the State government to collaborate with the Central Bank of Nigeria for a Bail Out of outstanding workers’ salary in the State and Local governments,” Mr. Masari wrote.
“Mr Speaker may wish to know that at the time of the take-off of this administration, the State and Local Governments in the State owed workers two months’ salary to the tune of N11,086,632,741.32 broken down as follows: Katsina State: N3,646,943,099.80; 34 local government councils: N7,439,689,641.32; Total: N11,086,632,741,.32.
“It is in the view of the need for the State Government and Local Governments to meet their obligation in the payment of outstanding workers’ salary, considering the lean resources inherited from the former administration, that it has become necessary for the State Government to apply for the bail out on behalf of the State and Local Governments.” he added.
However, PREMIUM TIMES’ investigation revealed that the state had no business being among the group of insolvent states in need of federal bailout to pay workers salary arrears.
Katsina State civil servants as well as workers in the state’s 34 local governments received their full salaries and allowances up to May when Mr. Masari became governor.
In fact, the governor’s chief press secretary, Abdul Labaran, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that workers were not owed and that their salaries had been completely paid up to August.
“Katsina State government doesn’t owe anybody any salary,” Mr. Labaran said over the phone after a long pause.
He also answered in the affirmative when asked if he meant that the state government had paid workers in the state up to August. “That is correct,” he said.
However, when confronted with questions about why the government requested a bailout as contained in the letter to the state assembly from his principal, Mr. Labaran refused to answer saying he was not aware of any such letter. He also refused the letter be read to him.
Going by the investigations, it is clear that the State workers were not being owed their salaries before the governor's request for a bailout, a fund that was exclusively supposed to attend to states with salary issues.
It would be recalled, the N338 billion federal bailout, paid by the Central Bank of Nigeria, was authorised by President Buhari to help insolvent states that had failed to pay workers for months. The loan is repayable with an interest of nine per cent over a 20-year period.