The Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, has disclosed that his administration had employed 250 graduates into the state civil service, 400 health workers and completed the employment of over 2,000 primary school teachers in the state.
The governor stated this in a statement to mark the 2023 Worker’s Day in Minna.
He said the administration is currently concluding the employment of more workers into the state civil service.
Recall an All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart and patron of its presidential campaign council in the State, Alh. Awaisu Giwa Wana in Minna had recently warned Bello to suspend last-minute appointments and massive employment into the civil service to stop unnecessary burdens.
He reasoned that the governor’s recent actions were uncalled for as it would put the incoming administration in a tight financial corner.
However, Bello noted that although he is leaving office in a couple of days, he is still concerned with the huge wage bill of the state which has remained static as well as the lingering anomalies in the civil service over the years.
He, nonetheless, tasked the civil servants to be sincere with themselves and support the incoming government in addressing ugly trends that have continued to bring setbacks within the system.
The governor tasked workers to be more efficient and productive in the discharge of their duties for the progress and development of the state arguing, that it “is imperative that civil servants be effective and productive in the performance of their duties in their interest too”.
According to him, “some of our administration’s modest effort on the civil servants include; prompt payment of salaries and wages, implementation of new minimum wage and salary structure for health workers and federal Paramilitary salary structure for the state Fire Service, refund of 7.5% pension deduction as well as 15%salary augmentation for workers of the state tertiary institutions.”
Bello commended the state workforce for serving as a catalyst in the formulation and implementation of government policies and programmes, as well as for sustaining good governance in the state.
The governor further disclosed that his administration, since inception, had laid emphasis on capacity development through training and retraining of workers in its deliberate attempt to reposition the service for greater performance, effective and efficient service delivery.
He assured of his administration’s commitment to partner with the new NLC leadership in the state led by Comrade Lafene Idris to systematically tackle most of the challenges of civil servants in the state, while congratulating workers on the occasion.
The Governor then used the occasion to thank the organized labour for its support during the recent general elections which contributed immensely to the success of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).