The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kebbi has berated the State Government for allegedly shortchanging Local Government workers after they were paid their November salary with the new minimum wage.
The PDP Spokesperson in the state, Alhaji Sani Dododo, made this known in a statement issued to newsmen in Birnin Kebbi on Friday.
“PDP has been keenly following trends of minimum wage payments since its formal announcement in Oct. this year.
“It will be recalled that Governor Nasir Idris, made a formal declaration to pay the sum of N75,000 as the new minimum wage effective October 2024, for both State and Local Government Workers,” he said.
He added that unfortunately, due to some administrative limitations, local government managers and trade unions solicited two weeks grace to harmonise their documentation.
“To our greatest dismay and after persistent delays, the local governments and teachers’ minimum wage was finally released this month but was grossly far from the approved amount of N75,000.
“This development was testified by several teachers and LG workers from across the 21 LGAs of the state,” Dododo alleged.
He also wondered why the state and local government employees would have a new minimum wage contrary to the one announced by the governor.
“We challenge the state government to dispute the fact that despite agreed minimum wage figure, the state Is still paying less than N40,000 to almost all categories of staff on Grade Level 3, 4 and 5,” he said.
The PDP image maker urged the state government to fulfil its promises to teachers as they played a crucial role in reshaping the future of society.
Reacting to the development in a chat with newsmen, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Alhaji Faruk Abubakar-Sadiq, called on any staff with issues relating to payments to formally lodge complaints with the Ministry for Local Government.
“Any staff with complaints regarding omission or underpayment should lodge his/her complaints to the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs through their respective Directors of Finance and Supply.
“These complaints will be forwarded to the ministry for necessary action,” the chairman assured.
The NULGE boss expressed deep gratitude to Governor Nasir Idris for his timely approval and implementation of the new minimum wage for all staff in the State Local Government Service.
Abubakar-Sadiq described the gesture as a testament to Gov. Idris’ unwavering commitment to improving the welfare of workers across the state.
He assured the members of the unions that the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs was committed to addressing any reasonable complaints arising from the payments.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NULGE chairman spoke on behalf of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and Medical Health Workers of Nigeria.