Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State says his administration would do everything to make sure that the Civil Service in the State remained vibrant and result oriented.

Mohammed, who stated this during the 2024 International Workers’ Day celebration in Bauchi on Wednesday, said the move was to ensure seamless delivery of dividends of democracy to the good people of the state.

Represented by his Deputy, Alh Auwal Jatau, Mohammed reassured that no stone would be left unturned in his administration’s resolve to reposition the civil service and thereby restore its lost glory.

He explained that the recent provision of Wage Award and restoration of the payment of Annual Leave Grant to Civil Servants in the state was a deliberate attempt at providing succor to Civil Servants.

Mohammed commended the International Labour Organization for singling out workers day to celebrate workers’ contributions to world growth and development, adding that workers had the responsibility of striving to salvage the socio-economic and political fortune of the country.

“I am very pleased to be part of another annual celebration of the International Workers Day also known as ‘MAY DAY’.

“This day is specifically set aside to acknowledge and appreciate the contributions of workers to the socio-economic development of the country.

“As May Day is celebrated, workers in both the public and Private Sectors have the opportunity to reflect on their performances and see how much they have contributed to the development of their fatherland.

“They should also see how to address the current challenges affecting our economic, social, security and other vital areas of human endeavors in order to move the country forward,” he said.

According to him, since the inception of his Administration, measures had been put in place to stabilise salaries and pensions payment with a view to have credible nominal roll that would reliably drive the payroll, block leakages, improve cash flow management and cut unnecessary spending.

Earlier, the State Head of Civil Service, Yahuza Adamu, appreciated Governor Bala Mohammed for his administration’s investment in the civil service and tasked workers to reciprocate the gesture by supporting the present administration in the state to succeed in the implementation of policies and programmes.

Also, the Chairman of NLC in the state, Comrade Dauda Shuaibu, expressed gratitude to the governor for the payment of Ten thousand naira Wage Award to all workers in the state and urged him to sustain it so as to alleviate the current economic challenges being experienced by workers.

Super Falcons of Nigeria goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie, has become the first African and Nigerian player to be crowned the best goalkeeper in the French D1 Arkema (women’s league).

The 23-year-old shot-stopper cemented her status as one of the best goalkeepers in the world following her remarkable achievements and heroic penalty-savings this season for Paris FC.

Nnadozie beat out stiff competition from Olympic Lyon’s Christiane Endler and Katarzyna Kiedrzynek of Paris SG to claim the coveted individual accolade.

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“It’s very pleasing because she deserves it and she achieved an exceptional Champions League and not only on penalties,” said Pierre Ferracci, the president of Nnadozie’s club, Paris FC.

“She is adorable. It is deserved. We know that she will be courted this summer, but we will try to keep her,” Pierre Ferracci added.

Paris FC currently sits third in the league with 42 points, eight points behind their local rivals Paris Saint-Germain and a further 11 points away from the league leaders, Lyon.

The President of Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, has criticised the Federal Government’s pay raise announcement, describing it as mischievous moves.

On Tuesday, the Federal Government approved a pay rise of between 25 and 35 per cent for civil servants across various consolidated salary structures.

Speaking on Wednesday during an interview on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, Ajaero said the last minimum wage of N30,000 expired on April 18.

“We should be in the regime of new minimum wage as of today. Discussions were supposed to have been concluded,” Ajaero said.

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“The federal government through the national assembly legislated on it. But we saw that the discussion entered voice mail because the federal government refused to reconvene the meeting that was adjourned.

“I think the announcement now appears mischievous because there is no wage increase that the government is announcing. For them to announce it now, is an issue that we are worried about at the NLC and even at the TUC.”

Ajaero further said organised labour has agreed on N615,000 as the living wage for civil servants.

“Living wage is such that will, at least keep you alive. It is not a wage that will make you poorer and poorer. It is not a wage that will make you borrow to go to work. It is not a wage that will lead you to be in the hospital every day because of malnutrition. For that living wage, we have tried to look at N615,000,” he added.

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“Let me give you a breakdown of how we arrived at that figure. We have housing and accommodation of N40,000. We asked for electricity of N20,000 — of course, that was before the current tariff increase. Nobody can spend this amount currently. We have a utility that is about N10,000. We looked at kerosene and gas which is about N25,000 to N35,000.

“We looked at food for a family of six, that is about N9,000 in a day. For 30 days, that is about N270,000. Look at medical, N50,000 provided there will be no surgery or whatever.

“For clothing, we looked at N20,000. For education, N50,000. I don’t know if those who tried to put their children in private school, will not be able to cope with this amount. We also have sanitation of N10,000.

“I think where we have another bulk of the money is transportation. This is because the workers stay on the fringes and because of the cost of PMS, which amounted to N110,000.

“That brought the whole living wage to N615,000 and I want anyone to subject this to further investigation and find out whether there will be any savings when you pay somebody on this rate.”
PUNCH