Benue State workers are currently on strike to protest the non-payment of their salaries for the past nine months. The state government made its intention known that it has no capacity to pay their salaries because there is no money.
The state monthly IGR is N250 million, with a monthly receipt of N3 Billion from Abuja. Considering these figures, the state is definitely not capable of paying salaries with its humongous wage bill of N8.2 Billion naira.
Moving away from that, the main issue is the low IGR of the state. How will a state that prides itself as the food basket of the nation, generate a paltry sum of N250 million monthly as IGR when states with lesser agricultural and industrial potentials like Osun generate more.
What happened to Agriculture produce from Benue like potatoes, cassava, soya bean, guinea corn, flax, yams, sesame, rice, and groundnuts. Are they not growing again? Why is Benue not cashing in on the exportation of these crops instead of running to Abuja cap in hand every month?
Before oil boom, the Middle Belt region of Nigeria from which Benue was extracted built their wealth from Agriculture. The oil boom and the easy money that came with it made the states and their executives to lose focus.
That Benue is in a financial crisis when it could generate billions from the exportation of Agricultural products has shown how short sighted our leaders are.
Governor Ortom needs to know, that there is still food in the food basket from which he can generate more wealth for his state.
