Zamfara State Government has refuted reports that civil servants in the state have not been paid salaries for four months.
Briefing newsmen shortly after the State Executive Council meeting at Government House, Gusau, the Head of Civil Service, Alhaji Yakubu Sani Haidara said the reports are baseless and a deliberate attempt to discredit the state government.
Haidara pointed out that the government received with shock the false claims that salaries have not been paid to civil servants for four months.
“I want to state here that these are false reports from the enemies,”; he said.
He said Governor Dauda Lawal’s administration has prioritized the welfare of workers.
“As the Head of Civil Service, I can confidently say that Governor Lawal is the most civil service friendly governor Zamfara has ever got,”; the head of service said.
He added that upon taking office, the governor cleared three months’ salary arrears without any formal request from workers.
According to him, the administration has also paid pensions and gratuity arrears amounting to about N14 billion.
Also Speaking, Zamfara State Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Malam Wadato Madawaki, debunked reports that the state government has withheld salaries of workers for four months, describing the claims as the handiwork of mischief makers.
He stressed that since the inception of Governor Dauda Lawal’s administration, salaries have been paid promptly.
“When we came into office, we discovered numerous irregularities across the education sector. Committees were set up to thoroughly review the workforce from basic to senior and tertiary institutions and what we found was a bloated payroll,”; he said.
Madawaki noted that based on the findings, Governor Lawal constituted a committee to investigate and another to produce a white paper to present the facts to the public.
“It’s important for both civil servants and the general public to understand that there has never been a time when salaries were not paid even for a single month. In fact, Governor Dauda Lawal has ensured that salaries are paid on or before the 25th of every month, regardless of the financial situation.”;
“In the education sector, there are 207 individuals whose salaries have been withheld based on credible findings by the committee,”; Madawaki clarified. “Some of these individuals were found to be persistently absent from duty without justification.”;
He urged the public to disregard the misinformation and challenged anyone with genuine evidence of unpaid salaries to come forward with verifiable proof.
“We will continue to uphold transparency and accountability. False claims without facts only serve to distract from the government’s commitment to reforms and good governance,”; he concluded.
Also speaking, the State Commissioner for Information, Mahmud Dantawasa, said several key issues including security, healthcare, agriculture, education, infrastructure, empowerment and the economy were discussed during the council meeting.
He maintained that the salary payment claims on social media were false and misleading.
