Zamfara Circle wishes to join the workers of Zamfara State in thanking Allah (SWT) for sparing our lives to witness another day internationally marked to celebrate workers.
It is a well-known fact that since the inception of #GovernorYari-led administration in 2011, the progress and welfare of public service has been on a retarding gear. The administration has failed to commit the implementation of minimum wage and has long stopped the payment of annual step increment and leave grants.
The administration has further made a dishonest act of deceit by refusing to pay about 1400 duly employed graduates who went through a rigorous recruitment process from application, examination, interview, verification, appointment, acceptance, documentation, deployment and then finally reported to their places of posting and assumed duty.
After all these processes, the Yari-led administration has still refused to honor the civil service rules and pay these workers for thirty six (36) consecutive months (from May 2014 to date). Almost all representatives of stake holders in Zamfara State have pleaded with the administration over this heartlessness but all fell on deaf ears.
With the continuous failure to integrate the 1400 group into the payroll, we can rightly say the Governor Yari-led administration has not employed a single worker in the six years of the administration even after retrenching thousands of workers.
Zamfara Circle has been receiving lots of public complaints through mails, text messages and phone calls regarding failure of the Yari-led administration to settle retired workers’ gratuities and pensions.
The bailout funds and London-Paris Club refunds have been diverted for some purposes they are not meant for, while workers and pensioners are left to die in penury in what can be best described as inhumane act by this workers-unfriendly administration.
Public service reform is clearly not part of the agenda of this administration that is inclined to awarding road contracts to its friends even at the expense of breaching appropriation act. The easiest way to siphon the state’s funds by trained looters.
The remark credited to Governor Yari today that he would settle the N4.6 billion naira gratuities of retirees in a trenches of just N100 million monthly (with effect from June) is quite discouraging and unacceptable. We demand the immediate payment of all arrears of retirees who have served the state in their most productive ages. Other states had long settled all the outstanding entitlements they owed their retirees. Why is Zamfara not doing same?
Now with all these glaring failures towards the workers of Zamfara State, the Special Adviser to Governor Yari on Media and Public Enlightenment Alhaji Ibrahim Dosara today shamelessly made a “press release” which not only failed to address these injustices to Zamfara workers and pensioners but even went further to outline lies and fabrications.
It is most unfortunate to see the NLC leadership in Zamfara State abandoning its mandate of fighting for the rights and welfare of workers and assuming a docile and deceptive role. We expected them to stand and fight for their members on an important day like this. Alas, the reverse is the case for the leadership has compromised.
We wish to seize this opportunity to condemn the irresponsibility of the NLC leadership. Our simple call here is to demand that the NLC leadership resigns and give way to serious members who can fight for the right and welfare of workers and failure to do so, we will ensure that Zamfara workers take a serious but legal action of replacing them within the confines of the union’s laws.
It is very clear that Yari’s administration has no respect for workers. The absence of the governor today is a testimony to the fact that he has nothing tangible to address among his numerous crimes against the workers.
To the ‘Shari’ah-compliant-governor’, we implore you to fear Allah (swt) in honoring agreements and living up to responsibilities. Workers and pensioners are living and dying in penury. Oh, could it be the gravity of their sins that is stopping you from giving them their entitlements?
Signed
Gazali Shehu Ahmad
Chairman, Zamfara Circle
01/05/2017
