By Ummi Ismaeel,
Minna
Niger State government has appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to reconsider its hard stance on the Governor Abubarkar Sani Bello-led administration in the face of financial challenges.
He made appeal as the industrial strike by the organized labour in the state entered its forth day over unpaid salaries and other financial demends.
Niger state government wanted its work force to forfeit certain percentage of their salaries to enable it manage dwindling state resources due to some challenges including; overburdened wages and retirement benefits, coronavirus, insecurity and as well provision of social amenities.
Dialogue between the state government and organized labour over how much percentage to be deducted from their salaries and for how many months ended in deadlock as the state government made efforts to manage the harsh economic realities the state is facing.
Niger State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Idris, while briefing journalists on the predicaments said that the deferment of the workers’ salaries would only be for the months of November and December 2020.
The commissioner reminded the leadership of the organized labour in the state that the economic recession which was why their salaries is to be deducted from is a global and national phenomenon and not peculiar to the state alone.
While Niger State spends almost N2 billion monthly on the payment of salaries, pension gulps N500 million yet the monthly allocation from FAAC keeps reducing by the months due to recession.
The commissioner who however could not explain how much the state government generates monthly from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and why only salaries of workers were to be deducted wants civil servants to appreciate the enormity of challenges and assist the state government in managing the situation instead of embarking on strike.
As part of efforts to manage the financial crisis, Alhaji Mohammed Idris said the situation had compelled the state government to forgo most of its financial obligations to Boards and Parastatals and the Ministries Departments and Agencies.
Niger State government, according to Idris, spends more on a monthly basis even when allocation from FAAC is reducing.
“Today November, 27th we are in a period of crisis, but it is not peculiar to our state alone, we are trying our best as a government to eliminate these crisis especially that of security challenges”. Notwithstanding the challenges, government must not abandon its primary responsibilities to citizenry, the commissioner said as he pleaded with workers’ union to reconsider its stance under the situation the state government found itself which has made salary deductions inevitable.