As the world celebrates International Workers’ Day on May 1st, the workers’ union of the Kano State Water Board has described the day as one of sadness for its members, despite it being generally regarded as a happy day for workers.
This is due to the failure of the state government to begin paying them the new minimum wage of ₦71,000.
The chairman of the union, Comrade Najib Abdulsalam, made this known during an interview with Dala FM on Thursday, May 1, 2025.
“We at the Kano Water Board are living in hardship. We call on Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to include us in the new salary structure so that we too can share in the joy like other workers,”; he said.
According to Comrade Najib, despite previous complaints about their exclusion from the new minimum wage, there has been no response — nearly six months since the ₦71,000 wage was announced.
“We suspect that those advising the governor on social media matters are not telling him the truth about what is happening in the Water Board, and that’s why our demands have still not been met,”; he added.
It will be recalled that Water Board workers have for some time now been lamenting the failure to implement the new salary structure and other grievances, although the board has claimed efforts are being made to resolve the issue.
Some people are linking the severe shortage of tap water currently being experienced in Kano to the failure of the Water Board to treat its workers well.
