SALARY IS NOT “NOTHING” — IT IS THE FIRST PROOF THAT GOVERNMENT IS WORKING
By AProf. Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke
The viral claim that “salary is nothing” in judging Abia’s finances is not just misleading — it directly contradicts global public finance standards. No serious fiscal system in the world treats salary payment, pension settlement, and arrears clearance as irrelevant. That is where real governance begins.
NO GOVERNMENT IS CREDITABLE IF IT CANNOT PAY WORKERS AND PENSIONERS.
Abia’s inflows — including State and Local Government FAAC — are publicly verifiable through the National Bureau of Statistics FAAC datasets:
https://microdata.nigerianstat.gov.ng/index.php/catalog/156
https://microdata.nigerianstat.gov.ng/index.php/catalog/156/download/1125/FAAC_Disbursement_August_2024.xlsx
Those are official records — not social media graphics.
Under IMF and World Bank public financial management rules, government spending is always structured first around personnel cost, pensions, overheads, arrears, and debt obligations — before capital projects. That is the lawful order of fiscal responsibility.
PAYROLL + PENSIONS + BACKLOG CLEARANCE ARE CALLED FISCAL REPAIR — NOT WASTE.
IMF Fiscal Transparency standard:
https://www.imf.org/external/np/fad/trans/code.htm
World Bank PFM framework:
https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/governance/brief/public-financial-management
Globally, personnel and pension costs typically consume between 30% and 55% of recurrent government expenditure. That is normal. That is compliant. That is expected.
If a government inherits backlog arrears stretching across many years — unpaid salaries, delayed pensions, contractor debts — clearing them is not “nothing.” It is economic stabilization. It restores household income and prevents strike cycles and service collapse.
ARREARS CLEARANCE IS A REFORM INDICATOR — NOT A FAILURE SIGNAL.
Health workforce recruitment — which is salary-based spending — is also a recognized governance reform metric under WHO standards:
https://www.who.int/teams/health-workforce
Independent national reporting has already acknowledged Abia’s healthcare delivery improvements:
https://punchng.com/reps-committee-lauds-abia-govs-strides-in-healthcare-delivery/
That is not propaganda — that is third-party reporting.
Those who dismiss salary and pension spending as “nothing” are dismissing the very foundation of functioning government — teachers paid, nurses paid, civil servants paid, retirees paid.
YOU CANNOT BUILD CAPITAL PROJECTS ON UNPAID HUMAN BEINGS.
Serious governance pays people first — then builds forward.
We welcome debate. We reject fiscal illiteracy packaged as outrage.
RECORDS WILL ALWAYS OUTLIVE RHETORIC.
