The Kogi State House of Assembly said it would sanction any government ministry, department, agencies or individual that tampers with the state’s budget as approved by it.
The Speaker of the House, Alhaji Momo-Jimoh Lawal, announced this at plenary on Wednesday in Lokoja.
Lawal’s comment was sequel to the adoption of the report of the House’s Joint Committee on Transport and Communication and Public Service Matters on the plight of the 142 workers of the state transport company, Kogi Travelers, placed on compulsory leave without pay since June 30, 2011.
Presenting the report, the Chairman of the committee, Linus Enenche (APC, Olamaboro), said the salaries and allowances of the affected workers were captured in the 2015 budget.
The inclusion of the workers’ emolument, Enenche said, followed the House’s recommendation that the workers be re-absorbed into the service of the organisation.
Enenche, however, stated that the approved figure for payment of the reinstated workers was removed by some persons in government.
According to him, the Ministry of Budget and Planning expunged the appropriation as contained on page 58 of the approved 2015 Budget.
In his remark, the speaker described the action of the ministry in tampering with the budget as an “affront” on the integrity and authority of House.
Lawal said: “What baffles me most is that somebody there could tamper with or expunge something from the budget after it was passed by the House.
“Whoever is responsible should be sanctioned, because it is an affront on the House for anybody to have done that.
“The person must not go unpunished. This is the first time I am seeing this type of thing.”
The House adopted the recommendations of the committee on the issue with some amendments.
It warned that at no point should the ministry tamper with the budget approved and passed by the Assembly.
It called for the recall of the affected workers, adding that since they were not formally disengaged, their accumulated salaries and allowances must be paid.
According to the lawmakers, since none of the affected people was issued a letter of termination, by implication, they are still on the job.
They said if the company was no longer existing, the state government should re-assign the workers to other establishments.
They urged the government to adopt the mechanism used in re-assigning workers of the collapsed State Investment Company and Kogi Properties Limited to other ministries, parastatals and boards for the workers.
NAN.