Some of the civil servants also accused the state government of deducting from their wages after failing to pay the new minimum wage as approved by the federal government.
Civil servants in Kebbi State have lamented that the state governor, Nasir Idris, dashed their hopes by not paying salaries based on the N70,000 new national minimum wage structure as promised.
Some of the civil servants also accused the state government of deducting from their wages after failing to pay the new minimum wage as approved by the federal government.
They claimed that the governor had earlier while addressing leaders of the organised labour in the state promised to be the first in the country to implement the new national minimum wage once approved by the federal government.
Workers on the payroll of Kebbi State government after anxiously waiting for new minimum wage were reportedly disappointed when they got the August paycheck, reflecting the old N30,000 minimum wage, contrary to the governor's promise.
"August salaries unexpectedly came with deduction and no one offered any explanation; we thought the governor would surprise us by unexpectedly paying N70,000 minimum wage but instead the government deducted our salaries.
"For instance, my salary is N45,000, but some N10,000 was strangely deducted and after servicing my loan I was left with only N5000.
"The governor had disappointed civil servants in the state particularly primary school teachers where he came from, when he came on board; many of us thought he would meet our demands immediately having traded the same path with us but he turned his back on us with no promotion implementation, no salary increment, no furniture in most primary schools; even in the state capital,” a civil servant who pleaded anonymity told SaharaReporters.
They also accused the governor of diverting the federal government’s fertilisers and distributing same to cronies and political associates.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the governor, Ahmed Idris denied the allegation saying, "There was no deduction on salaries. It’s a lie. In fact, the governor has surpassed expectations by paying N100,000 and above to pensioners in the state. He also gave palliatives randomly to indigent families across the state."