By DOUGLAS OKORO

The Ebonyi Government says it is deeply saddened that teachers under the Ebonyi State Universal Education Board (EBSUBEB) and their counterparts in the Local Government system have yet to receive their February and March salaries.

The Commissioner for Education (Primary and Secondary Schools), Prof. Paul Nwobashi, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakiliki on Friday.

Nwobashi said that the challenge was entirely allocation problem.

According to him, the LGAs have not been receiving their statutory monthly allocation from the Federation Account for sometime now.

He said that the development affected the smooth running of the local government administration.

He said that the salaries of teachers, under the control of the EBSUBEB, were paid by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) via Federal Allocation paid direct into the Local Government Federal Allocation Account.

Nwobashi said that the State Government had been augmenting LG funds to ensure that salaries were paid to workers in the local government system ?to save the workers untold hardship?.

Nwobashi said that the State Government was deeply worried by the situation.

He, however, gave assurance that government was doing everything possible to ensure that the issue was resolved in earnest.

He further promised that the affected teachers and workers in the LG system would soon receive their outstanding February and March salaries.

?But, we are doing everything possible to ensure that they are paid.

?Immediately the allocation comes, they will be paid.

?We have been in close discussion with the relevant stakeholders in the education sector.

?I have discussed with the Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria and I have talked with the officials of the Nigerian Union of Teachers, I have asked them to be patient.

?It is an allocation problem, it is not from the State Government,? the commissioner said.

He said that the State Government assisted ?in the payment of December and January salaries and the other ones?.

Also, the national representative of NUT, Ebonyi Chapter, Mr. David Elom, confirmed the non-payment of the February and March salaries, and described the situation as ?pathetic.?

Elom said that the union had held a series of meetings with the Commissioner for Education and Head of Service to address the matter. (NAN)