- Governor Akeredolu said the state uses 90 per cent of its allocation to pay salaries
- He said this leaving infrastructure to suffer
- He called on workers to be supportive of the government
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has lamented that 90 per cent of the state’s monthly allocation is expended on workers’ salaries leaving little room for other things to be done.
The Nation reports that the governor spoke on Wednesday, May 2 at Owode-Obaile in Akure North local government area of the state during the inauguration of NULGE Ultra-modern Resort constructed by the Ondo State leadership of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE).
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He spoke about the protest carried out by workers on May 1 saying they had the right to do so.
Akeredolu however noted that infrastructure would suffer if the only they do with their allocation was to pay salaries.
He said: “We earn about N5b every month, N4b goes for salaries, allowances, how do we address the problems of shortage of teachers in primary schools, how do we build classrooms, how do we provide transformers for communities without light, majority want their roads constructed. The current state of affairs is depressing”.
“It is a tragic irony that some people now refer to our state as a civil service enclave where governance has been reduced, virtually, to payment of salaries, allowances, grants and subventions.
“So, you can shout, you can protest, is your fundamental human right, you can remain in sun for days but I will not change my style in the interest of the majority. We are paying salaries regularly, workers must not be selfish, allow us to take care of other people in the state”.
He noted that only 2 percent of the state population were workers and thus would be selfish to spend all the allocation on them while ignoring others.
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Meanwhile, Tte governor of Bauchi state, Mohammed Abubakar, on Tuesday, May 1, told civil servants that the state does not have the power and will to pay the proposed new monthly minimum wage of N66, 500 to its workers.
The Nation reports that the governor was, however, quick to add that the state can only change this stand if the federal allocation to state increases, as demanded by Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on behalf of the state workers.
Speaking at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi, where workers gathered to mark the 2018 May Day, the governor said the state generates little revenue.
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Source: Naija.ng