Borno NLC gives government two-week ultimatum to sack Bako

Zulum airlifts N65m for disbursement to 8,000 IDPs
The Borno State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has given the state government two weeks ultimatum to sack the head of its biometric unit, Adamu Bako.

It said Governor Babagana Zulum should also constitute a panel to probe the source of funding of the recent awards to some persons in Maiduguri.

While issuing the ultimatum at the weekend, NLC Chairman, Comrade Bulama Abiso, insisted at a media briefing that Zulum should sack Bako and probe sources of funding of the awards.

“The organised labour demands an investigation into sources of funds spent on the award ceremony. We also demand immediate removal of head of biometric unit, Adamu Bako,” he said.

While lamenting nonpayment of workers’ promotion benefits, annual increments and leave allowances, he said: “The workers have not been paid their benefits, leave and transport grants, as well as annual increments for 2017, 2019 and 2020.

He said there were outstanding labour issues on the ongoing biometric exercise for serving and retired civil servants, noting that due to the development, workers have not been captured since the commencement of exercise in 2014.

He said Bako claimed that the state government had saved over N500m, despite outstanding workers’ benefits, promotion increments, leave and transports allowances.

While responding to the demand for his sack, Bako said: “I will not comment until I get approval from the Head of Service (HoS) to speak.”

MEANWHILE, Governor Zulum airlifted N65m for disbursement to 8,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) households at Rann.

Terrorists had severally attacked Rann, a border community with Cameroon, while there was accidental bombing of IDP camp by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jet on January 17, 2017.

Lamenting the council’s remoteness, he said: “There are no banking services in Kala-Balge, while it is impossible for humanitarian agencies to transport food and other items to trapped IDPs in camps.”

He added that the remoteness of Kala/Balge had denied the IDPs access to their farms due to perennial flooding, adding that the locals buy their food supplies from border communities of Cameroon for their sustenance.

While supervising the disbursement of N65m, he Said: “Each of the 5,000 IDPs male households will receive N10, 000, while 3,000 female households will receive N5, 000 and 10-kilogram bag of rice.”