07042018 - Investigate your ministers

10—SATURDAY Vanguard, APRIL 7, , 2018
Investigate
your ministers
Ministerial
aides tell Buhari
Bitter over nonpayment of
their emoluments
•Reveal corrupt practices
•Buhari’s directive on number
of aides flouted
•SAs, PAs, TAs, others affected
•Aides on secondment lament
BY Emma Ujah, Charles Kumolu,
Dirisu Yakubu& Johnbosco Agbakwuru
INVESTIGATIONS by
Saturday Vanguard have
revealed that the claims of
non- payment of salaries to
some ministerial aides are not
baseless.
It was learned that some of the
affected aides are those employed by
the ministers and others seconded
from various ministries.
The situation, we
gathered, had become
unbearable for the
affected appointees, who
now survive on Duty Tour
Allowance, DTA.
Frustrated about their
conditions some of them
revealed what they
termed “corrupt practices”
of some ministers and
hoping that President
Buhari would summon
courage to investigate
some of the ministers.
Some aides, who spoke
on condition of anonymity,
said it appeared as if
there is a consensus
among some of the
indebted ministers not to
pay, adding that they
were considering
resigning their positions.
One of such aides went
public last month
accusing the minister of
corruptly buying houses,
The situation,
we gathered,
had become
unbearable
for the
affected
appointees,
who now
survive on
Duty Tour
Allowance,
DTA
appropriating wealth but refusing to
pay his wages, a development that
turned him into a beggar.
Some aides even accused their
principals of collecting DTA on their
behalf for trips they were not part of.
For instance, an aide in a very
popular ministry told Saturday
Vanguard that he had to complain
about the inclusion of his name on
the DTA list of those, who were
billed to travel to Korea when it was
clear that he would not
be on the trip. “I had
to protest when I saw
my name again. They
had done so many
times but this time I
went to the office
responsible and told
them never to use my
name again in raising
DTA for the minister.”
Another aide of
another minister
revealed this: “The
man is always
traveling. He goes
everywhere and never
stays long in Nigeria.
He collects his DTA
and those of some
aides who never
accompany him on the
trips. Even when he is
going on medical trips
which he does every
time, they raise money
for one or two persons
meant to accompany
him. He is entitled to that but
nobody goes with him. It’s all
money, money, money and he never
gives a hoot about those working
with him.”
One aide of a minister put his story
this way: “I think that President
Buhari has shut many doors for the
ministers to fleece Nigeria the way
they did in the past so our minister
travels for estacode. His estacode is
$900 a night and he is never in the
country. He oversees more than a
ministry so he is always out
attending relevant and irrelevant
conferences and inspections. He
stays in Nigeria for a few days and
he is out again, sometimes up to
three countries in ten days or less.
There are no big contracts for him to
make huge money from but there are
many small contracts that he corners
and makes all the money. It pains
because we know all this yet he
doesn’t pay us. He takes all the
money. He takes care of himself and
ignores those working for him. He is
just a wicked and greedy man.”
Saturday Vanguard further learned
that some ministers withhold cash
gifts meant for their aides whenever
they travel especially within the
country.
The issue was found not to be
restricted to a particular ministry as
some heads of departments and
agencies were also affected. Said
one aide of a minister: “When we
travel to some states or to meet some
organisations the minister takes
•President
Buhari
everything they give to us and
passes peanuts to us. We went to
one state recently. The governor
gave the minister about N12m and
gave the aides N5m. The minister
tood everything and gave us
N50,000 each. We were only five
aides. In one other state that they
gave us N5m, the minister gave us
N100,000 when we would have
gotten N1m each if he didn’t
appropriate ours too. And on that
trip the minister was given N10m for
himself. When I read what the aide
of a minister published in the social
media I thought there could be a
conspiracy among some ministers to
be this mean to their aides. What the
guy complained of is exactly what is
happening in our ministry.”
Saturday Vanguard recalls that
President Muhammadu Buhari
instructed that ministers should
have two aides.
Presidential
directive
The presidential directive stated that
the aides on secondment should be paid
by their primary ministries.
However, the presidential order was
found to have been disregarded by
ministers, who appointed many aides.
The aide on secondment is expected to
be paid by his original office while a
Personal Assistant is expected to be paid
by the minister from his own
emolument which is provided for
through monitisation or
accommodated in the minister’s pay.
Continues on pg 11