The Federal Ministry of Finance has invalidated speculations that it has agreed to settle the N1.2 billion Special Overtime, SOT, payment being demanded by workers.
The spokesperson of the minister of finance, Festus Akanbi, on Thursday, June 23, stated that the minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has never promised paying the amount at a meeting held with staff on Wednesday.
Adeosun, who had listened to the workers’ requests, confirmed that contractual obligations were being met by government and promised that all genuine complaints and administrative issues would be promptly reviewed.
However, the N1.2 billion Special Overtime, SOT, payment being 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 Goodluck Jonathan administration on the grounds that it was not listed in any extant government circular, financial regulations or the public service rules.
