Stop All-White Elephant Projects And Pay Workers Salaries

Rabiu Omaku

2019 All Progressive Grand Alliance governorship flag bearer in Nasarawa State, Labaran Maku has sympathized with civil servants in the state over the new dimension taken by the chief executive to compelled workers to sign vouchers without payment of salaries.

Maku disclosed this when he paid a condolence visit to the former Deputy Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Honorable Elisha Agwadu shortly after the burial rites of his daughter at Adevi community of Jenkwe Development Area

He sympathized with civil servants over the unabated preponderances they are passing through under Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, he said the inability of the state government to pay workers’ salaries even with the colossal amount collected as bailout one and two and Paris/London club refund workers are in squalor and agony.

“Nasarawa State workers can no longer pay hospital bills of family members, they no longer pay the school fees of their wards, feeding the family is another herculean task”.

“Workers are leaving from hand to mouth as family heads cannot feed their families three times meal”.

Maku stated that everything about civil servants in Nasarawa State is in comatose due to what he referred to as misplaced priority by Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.

He, however, chastised the chief executive over the killings of two workers who were gunned down at the gate of Government House, Lafia while embarking on a peaceful protest over the downward review of salaries.

He lampooned the state governor over the huge amount of money used for the maintenance of Police chopper, calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to set up a probe committee ahead of the next Paris/London club refund.

“We also called on the President to constitute a committee in case of any refund like bailout, Paris refund, he further called on the federal government to extend the monitoring of the Federal Allocation Account committee especially workers’ salaries to be headed by people with impeccable records.

“I’m calling on the presidency to investigate the spending of the state government.

While reacting to the attempt to sell state assets, the erstwhile minister of Information condemned the act in its totality as he buttressed that the assets are future collateral in years to come.

“My first executive order if elected in 2019 was to recover all assets sold by Al-Makura “.

Maku described the attempt as a criminal intention to auction all the assets of Nasarawa State.

He identified the liaison office situated at Victoria Island, Lagos as the most valuable property, saying the only way to maintain the structure is to venture into Build, Operate and Transfer.

“Even in a capitalist country, they have public properties”.