Less than 24 hours after Governor Nasir Idris approved implementation of the N75,000 minimum wage for Kebbi State workers, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), National Union of Teachers (NUT) and other unions in the state have appealed that payment to local government staff be delayed.
The leadership of ALGON and NULGE at a press briefing chaired by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Abubakar Garba Dutsinmari, said it would be difficult to pay the local government workers because they were not properly captured to ascertain their number.
The governor on Wednesday after signing the N75,000 minimum wage into law directed the State Accountant General and Commissioner for Finance to effect payment to workers within 72 hours.
The unions leadership said after due consultation with the unions in the local government service, they unanimously observed that they required time to ensure that all their members were captured in the payment exercise to minimise human errors that could not be achieved within the time frame.
“With this, we appeal to the governor to extend the time frame for a period of not less than two weeks for completion of the exercise,” they said.
The ALGON chairman, Muhammad Nayaya Ambursa and his NULGE counterpart, Comrade Farouk Abubakar Sadiq, urged the commissioner to appeal to the governor to delay the payment of the minimum wage by two to three weeks to enable them get the accurate number of the local government workers.
Responding, Dutsinmari, said he would go back to the governor to convey their request.
“We will beg him, if he accepts fine but if not by Monday we have to pay the new minimum wage according to his directive,” he said.
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