Adeosun: Minister of Finance

Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, the Minister of Finance, insisted in a statement on Thursday that the demand for special overtime allowance payment by the staff of her Ministry cannot be met as the payment has been stopped since 2014.

The statement was issued to correct impression that she had agreed to the payment of the overtime allowance during a meeting with the workers in some media reports.

Adeosun said the Government will continue to pay entitlements due to the workers as and when due but not an allowance that had been stopped since 2014.

In addition, she added that allowance, totaling N1.2 billion was not captured in the 2016 Budget.

“However, the N1.2 Billion Special Overtime (SOT) payment demanded by workers, which had been discontinued since 2014, is neither in the 2016 Budget of the Federal Ministry of Finance nor the Federal Inland Revenue Service from where the funds to cover the allowance had hitherto been sourced.

“The payment of SOT was stopped by the previous administration on the grounds that it was not listed in any extant government Circular, Financial Regulations or the Public Service Rules.”

She therefore asked the workers to be patient and understand the current challenges facing the Nigerian economy.

The Minister said she was at pains to point out that many people across the country were struggling to find work and that the priority for the government had to be getting the whole economy back on its feet.