Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong on Wednesday said that he is not withholding the salaries of Local Government workers as such they have no right to call him names.
Lalong made this known while speaking at an engagement with Plateau state stakeholders on the second wave of covid-19 and security issues held in Jos the Plateau state capital.
Lalong while speaking said “I will be the last person to frustrate the implementation of the new minimum wage to Local Government employees has been one of the first and few Governors to agree on its implementation.
“Besides, I was part of the negotiation at the Federal level after which other tiers of Government were advised to go and negotiate with their employees.
Following the prolonged clamor for financial autonomy of the Local Government system nationwide, the matter was finally resolved. As a result, I approved that Local Government autonomy in Plateau State should be implemented immediately.
He said that all funds belonging to the third tier of Government go straight to them. It is therefore the duty of the Local Governments to negotiate the new minimum wage with their employees based on their capacity to pay. This is the same thing that happened at the Federal and State levels.
I was therefore shocked that despite my intervention to ensure that the matter was quickly resolved through a Technical Committee, the workers embarked on protests which caused hardship to other citizens. They have also called me unprintable names forgetting that I have a soft spot for workers.
I do not need to repeat what I inherited as their salary arrears for 8 months, unpaid “no-work-no pay”, promotions of over 20 years, among others when I took over. All these seem to have forgotten because of politics.
January 13, 2021
By Golok Nanmwa, Jos
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