The Senate on Thursday berated the executive arm of the Federal Government over the rising increment in recurrent expenditure and overhead in the annual national budget despite the embargo placed on employment by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The red chamber made the observation following the submissions by the Chairman of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Mr Ekpo Nta while defending his agency’s 2021 budget before the Senate Committee on Establishment.

The inability of Nta to tell the committee the total amount of salaries and wages federal government pays its workforce yearly, angered many members of the committee.

They wondered why recurrent expenditure in the yearly budget was not decreasing on account of the embargo placed on employment and retirements at the various agencies.

The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, directed the Salaries and Wages Commission Chairman to liaise with the Accountant General of the federation and other top officials of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel information system

He said the teams required harmonisation to arrive at a total amount of salaries/wages federal government pays per annum.

(The PUNCH)

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