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Nasarawa workers protest 50 per cent cut in salaries

By Chuwang Emmanuel, Lafia
19 July 2016   |   6:10 am
Nasarawa workers have protested a 50 per cent cut in their salaries and allowances by the state government.To demonstrate their grievances, the workers paralysed socio-economic and government activities in Lafia...
Al-Makura

Al-Makura

Nasarawa workers have protested a 50 per cent cut in their salaries and allowances by the state government.To demonstrate their grievances, the workers paralysed socio-economic and government activities in Lafia, the state capital.The angry workers, who carried placards, wept, sang and pronounced unprintable curses on the administration described the proposed salary template by Nasarawa state government as a crime.

The leader of the protesting workers, Gabriel Agbashi, in his speech at the gate of the state government house, accused Al-Makura of killing the local government system.He described the development as a bad signal to the existence of the state.

Attempts by government delegation led by the Head of Service, Joseph Ancho and the Permanent Secretary, Bureau for salary to address the protesting workers, were resisted by the angry crowd.

The state deputy governor, Silas Agara, who later addressed the workers said government will take a look at their complaints and appealed to them to be peaceful while protesting.Agara assured the organized labour that the letter received from the NLC would be deliver to the state governor for neccessary action.

The state Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Abdullahi Adeka, told newsmen that the decision to slash workers salary was not in the interest of the State and the nation.According to him the downward review of salary is not realistic and timely considering the fact that President Mohammadu Buhari has set up a committee for the upward review of salary.

The Union then gave the state government 48 hours ultimatum to reverse its decision or face total shutdown of activities in the state.The state government has admitted falling short of cash to pay civil servants the former salary wage and for essential services, disclosing that for the past five months the state as spent over N1.6 billion to augment staff salaries and over head cost.

Special Assistant to the governor on media and publicity, Ahmed Tukur disclosed, while addressing newsmen in his office in Lafia, said that due to the shortfall in revenue allocation, government is running short of money to pay workers and embarked on infrastructural development effectively.

Tukur who said Al-Makura should not be blamed for the present challenges facing workers in the state, maintained that the fall in the country’s economy was responsible for the present predicament.

He said workers in Nasarawa should appreciate the state for its ability to pay salaries in spite of the dwindling revenue from the federation account. “Before now we receive over N2billion monthly, but what we have now is so low. Last time we got N1.6 billion, what we received has drastically dropped.” Giving the breakdown he explained that the state government got N2.234 billion net allocation in January, the highest so far in the year and paid out N2.321billion as salaries and overhead leaving a balance of N87.3 million deficit.

Al-Makura said the least allocation of N1.6 billion was received from the federation accounts in April, while the state spent N2.4 billion on salaries and overhead being augmented with N810million.

He therefore appealed to the striking workers in the state to understand with the government over the current economic predicament and rescind their decision.

He added that even with the salary review, no civil servant in the state was collecting less than the N18, 000 minimum wage.According to Al-Makura, the current situation is not peculiar to the state and demanded sacrifice and understanding from all citizens in order to “weather the storm.”He then appealed to striking workers in the state to understand the predicament and the financial challenges the state is facing and resume to work.

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