Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has said it will be difficult for the state to meet up with the payment of monthly wage bill, even as the federal allocation to the State has dropped from N7 billion to N1.3 billion according to Benue.com.ng.
The Governor said this when he addressed the Catholic faithful at the end of a prayer session conducted by the Bishops of Otukpo, Makurdi, Gboko and Katsna-Ala Catholic Dioceses at the Grace Chapel of Benue People’s House yesterday.
He explained the precarious financial situation in the state to the congregation and noted that the federal allocation accruing to the state this month was N1.3 billion while the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) has increased to N500million a month.
Governor Ortom who blamed the ugly situation on falling global price of crude oil said with the current development, not only his state but 27 others were struggling to pay workers salaries.
Benue workers have only received salaries for one month since the turn of the year. Even at that, workers in some ministries are yet to be paid.