Workers Strike: Niger State appeals to labour Congress
By Abdul Mohammed Isa, Minna
Niger State government has appealed to the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC to reconsider it’s stance over embarking of planned strike action due to fifty percent deduction of the State’s Civil Servants Salaries by the government.
The State Chapter of the NLC had planned to embark on a strike action on 2nd Of November, 2020,due to a deadlock on agreement with Officials of the State government on the salaries deduction.
The Niger State Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Idris, Who made the appeal while briefing the media in Minna the state Capital, explained that the planned deferment of Civil Servants salaries for the months of November and December by the state government followed the dwindling resources due to short fall in Federation Account and Internally Generated Revenue occasioned by CoronaVirus pandemic.
He reminded labour leaders that the problem was not only peculiar to Niger state alone but a general phenomenon that has affected thirty six states of Nigeria and Abuja.
“The Niger state government received four point two billion naira from Federation Account for this month as against the over five billion naira in which salaries and related matters alone gullfed about two point nine billion naira, while about five hundred million naira has been earmarked for pension along with Contributory Pension Scheme of two hundred and ten million naira,” Sani Idris explained.
The Niger state Commissioner of Information and Strategy further said most ministries, Departments and Agencies in the state have forfeited their overhead cost to enable government meet it’s other obligations.
“Niger state government will not lower it’s momentum in discharging it’s responsibilities to the best of it’s ability, as it can’t compromise on issue of security that would guarantee peace and economic prosperity,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed Sani Idris who said that most of Niger state government projects are on bond, also urged labour leaders in the state to come to term with the government to see things in their clearer perspective.
Confidence Okwuchi
