A former governor of Zamfara state, Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar, has written to the state government demanding for the payment of his upkeep allowances running for months.
The backlog of the payment is for the months of August, September, October and possibly November.
In the letter dated 17th October 2019, ex-governor Yari said since the expiration of his tenure on 29th May 2019 he was only paid the upkeep allowances twice, for the month of June and July while his pension for the month of June has not been paid.
According to the letter, the monthly upkeep allowances for an ex-governor in the state is N10million, adding that it was backed by law which was amended and assented to on the 23rd of March 2019.
He then reminded the state government that the pension and upkeep allowances are not in the category of privileges that can be truncated without any justifiable reason.
When contacted, the permanent secretary in the governor’s office said he will get back to our correspondent after he reached out to his principal.
But as at the time of filing this report, he couldn’t be reached for official reaction.
However, the chairman, publicity committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Ibrahim Muhammad Birnin Magaji, confirmed the letter to Daily Trust, saying it was leaked by the state government.
“They leaked the letter because of the press conference we held last Saturday. After all, the ex-governor was asking for his entitlements, not any favour,” Birnin Magaji said.