Head of the Civil Service in Gombe State, Alhaji Bappayo Yahaya, has assured civil servants in the State that Government was working round the clock to resume payment of the N30,000 new minimum wage which was suspended in March 2020.
Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya had signed the new minimum wage of N30,000 per month into law in January 2020.
According to the Head of Service, the payment of the new minimum wage was suspended in March 2020 due to the outbreak of corona virus pandemic which devastated the world economy.
Alhaji Bappayo stated this during the third quadrennial delegates conference of the Gombe State branch of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, held in Amina hall Gombe.
He said, the Government requested for the suspension of the minimum wage in the State due to the economic realities and in order for Government to adequately prepare for the pandemic.
He said, “I want to assure the organized labour in the State that Government is working round the clock to restore the minimum wage within the shortest possible time.”
He also stated that the State Government was considering to call back to work, civil servants from grade levels 01-08 following the gradual easing of covid-19 lockdown by the State and Federal Governments.
He said Government was already in the process of creating an enabling environment for unions in the State to conduct their activities freely, just as he called on workers to corporate with Government so that the civil service can deliver on it’s objectives.
Earlier, the National President of the Association, Comrade Bola-Audu Innocent who was represented by an ex-officio member, Comrade Babayo Hamma, had called on the Gombe State Government to consider the plight of civil servants and restore the payment of the new minimum wage.
In his remark, the Gombe State chapter Chairman of the Association, Isa S. Abubakar, said the association attaches high premium on human capital development to meet and solve the challenges faced by civil servants.
He said in order to enhance quality service delivery and productivity, the association over the last four years had witnessed a virile and dynamic civil service through seminars and workshops.
At the end of the delegates conference, the following emerged as the new executives of the association in the State; Is a S Abubakar, Chairman; Musa Mamman, Vice Chairman; Shehu Musa Bappa, Vice Chairman; Yusuf Mohammed Kulani, Treasurer and Nyimjir Yakubu, Internal Auditor while Babangida I Umar and four others returned as ex-officio members.
