Some civil servant unions in Kebbi State have identified manual computation of workers’ salaries as a threat to the 72-hour directive given by Governor Dr. Nasir Idris, Kauran Gwandu, to ensure payment of N75,000 minimum wage in the state.
The unions are the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), the Medical and Health Workers Union (MHWY), and the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT).
It could be recalled that while signing the new wage into law on Wednesday, 23 October 2024, Governor Idris gave a 72-hour directive to ensure implementation for all categories of workers.
Addressing a press conference in Birnin Kebbi on Friday on behalf of the unions, Mr. Faruk Abubakar-Sadiq, Chairman of NULGE, said the unions appreciated the bold step taken by Gov. Idris to implement N75,000 minimum wage for the state workers.
He, however, said, that after due consultation, the three unions in the Local Government Service, have unanimously observed that the computation exercise required enough time to ensure that all members were captured in the payment exercise.
According to him, this is to minimize human error in the entire process.
“Given this, we are appealing to His Excellency to extend the time frame for not less than two weeks for the completion of the exercise.
“His Excellency may also wish to direct the release of October salary to our members to avoid unnecessary hardship,” he pleaded.
On his part, Abubakar Nayaya-Ambursa, the Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) in the state and Chairman of Birnin Kebbi local government, supported the appeal by the unions.
He said the local government chairmen appreciated the efforts of the governor in approving the new wage for the state civil servants.
The chairman observed that the three days given for the computation was too short to capture all workers under the local government, “because we still rely on manual means of computation for salary payments.
“Therefore, we appeal for an extension of time to enable the committee to do a very good job. We want to plead with His Excellency to give this committee at least two to three weeks to come up with excellent work.”
In his response, the State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Abubakar Umar-Dutsinmari promised to convey their message to the governor on behalf of the unions.
