AGF releases N55b for payment of promotion arrears, saves N37b from MDAs

Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris, yesterday disclosed that he has released N55b to pay arrears of entitlements to promoted Federal Government employees.

He said of the amount, N42b has been paid to the affected civil servants, while the balance will soon be paid and reassured of continued payment of promotion arrears owed Federal civil servants.

The restated his commitment to uninterrupted payments in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s directives.

Idris stated this in Abuja when National Executive of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) visited his office, according to a statement by head of Press and Publicity, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), Oise D. Johnson.

He revealed that following Mr. President’s directive that N10b be set aside monthly, commencing from May 2017 to offset outstanding promotion arrears, the OAGF inaugurated a committee to verify MDAs claims and submissions.

“The committee has saved over N37b from misapplications, paddings, mistakes and non-compliance by MDAs to the agreed template.

“So far, the committee has paid N42b out of the N55b released leaving an outstanding of N13b in cash, while N35b is yet to be released to the office,” he said.

The AGF also promised to bring the concerns of the Association to the Minister of Finance’s attention and would dialogue with the Director General Budget Office to ensure that government continues to keep its part of the bargain with Association in order to ensure industrial harmony.

Speaking, National President of ASCSN, who was represented by the Vice President, Bola Audu Innocent, commended Idris’ leadership, saying he had displayed professionalism in managing the nation’s treasury.

He, however, explained that government’s failure to honour the agreement signed in May 2017 might lead to industrial unrest.