From Ibrahim Goronyo, Sokoto
Sokoto State governor, Ahmed Aliyu has approved the commencement of the payment of N70,000 new national minimum wage to workers.
His Chief Press Secretary, Abubakar Bawa, in a statement, said the payment of the new minimum wage would cover state civil servants and local government staff.
Governor Aliyu urged civil servants to reciprocate the gesture by being alive to their responsibilities.
“With the commencement of the payment of this new national minimum wage, we expect renewed commitment, hard work, punctuality and above all, seriousness from our civil servants,” he said.
The governor also vowed to sustain the prompt payment of salaries from 19th to 22nd of every month, saying his administration would continue to remain workers-friendly.
It would be recalled that prior to the coming of the present administration, workers were not sure of when to get their salaries, which were paid after 50 days as against the usual 25 to 30 days.
With the coming of the Aliyu-led administration, workers now receive their salaries between 19th and 22nd of every month, while the backlog of gratuities of retirees is being defrayed.
The state government has set aside N500 million monthly to pay the backlog of gratuities, while additional N300 million has also been set aside monthly to pay those that retired from 2023 till date.
The idea, according to government, is to ensure that by the time the present administration completes its tenure, no civil servant would be owed any gratuity.
