Yobe justifies decision to slash local council workers’ salaries

The Yobe State Government says it slashed salaries of Local Government employees to avoid downsizing the workforce, Alhaji Abdullahi Bego, the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information and Culture, disclosed on Thursday.

Addressing newsmen in Damaturu, Bego said the decision was reached after due consultations with relevant stakeholders, including officials of all the 17 local government councils, who endorsed the decision.

He said: “Given the nature and scale of the situation at hand, the first and natural impulse would be to say ‘let’s retrench some of the workers or downsize the workforce’ to be able to handle the fat salary bill.

“But the administration of Governor Mai Mala Buni has refused to contemplate that idea.

“The governor does not want workers to lose their jobs because of the prevailing economic hardship.”

Bego explained that following the global economic downturn that also affected the state, government set up a committee to deliberate on the issue and proffer alternatives.

The committee, according to him, recommended to the state government to review the minimum wage of local government employees in the state to N20,160 across all grade levels.

Bego added that the decision was made with the full knowledge and participation of the relevant workers’ unions in the state, emphasising that because the government considered workers’ salaries as priority, it was always paid promptly.

He said: “This is why here in Yobe State, salary payments are the first-line charge from government revenue receipts.

“This means that at the end of every month, the state government would first pay the salaries of workers before undertaking any other expenditures.

“The records speak for themselves.

“Over the past years, the state government has been very prompt in ensuring that workers see their payment alerts without failure.”

The Commissioner enjoined workers in the state to be rest assured that the Buni’s administration would continue to do everything necessary to improve their welfare, based on the resources at its disposal.