The Kogi State Government has clarified that there is currently no allocation for wage adjustments to mitigate the impact of the Federal Government’s removal of fuel subsidy.
Ashiru Idris, the Commissioner for Finance, conveyed this information on Tuesday during discussions with journalists at the citizens’ engagement session for the 2024 budget formulation in Lokoja, the state capital.
He emphasized that the government has not made any provisions for such remuneration at this time.
He said, “If you look at the salary structure of the state civil service, you will realize that it’s higher than most states in the country, therefore, apart from the palliative for the general public, there is no provision for further award to civil servants and so no provision for it to be captured in the budget.
“Our focus as a government is to create an enabling environment for workers to operate with little or no hardships through the provision of social amenities and infrastructural facilities that will make life better for the people.”
However, the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Gabriel Amari, said that was not what the governor told them.
He added that the organized labour wrote to the government, and the governor promised to hold a consultative meeting with them after the election to consider their request.
“We have a copy of the letter and the reply of the governor with me, so I cannot react to the commissioner’s statement until I hear from him directly, then I will make my comments,” Amari said.
Earlier, the Chairperson, Kogi NGOs Network, Ambassador Idris Ozovehe Muraina, called for the enactment of budget transparency laws that would guarantee the right to access budget Information and mandate the disclosure of key budget documents to create a legal framework for transparency and accountability.
He also advocated the strengthening of institutional capacity where government agencies responsible for budget formulation, implementation and oversight must be adequately responsible for budget effective management and reporting.
