Photo: Gov Mutfwang
I inherited N11bn unpaid salary debt from ex-Gov Lalong —Mutfwang
Gov Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State, says he inherited a whooping N11 billion salary debt burden, being unpaid workers’ salaries from his predecessor, former Gov Simon Lalong.
According the Governor, out of a wage bill of N2.9bn for the month of February 2023, only N900 million was paid to the workers by the immediate past administration.
“Over the years, Plateau state had deviated from the right paths and that is why we decided to steer the state to the right. With the little we have seen since taking over, there is a lot of work to be done.
“We inherited a civil service on strike. Out of a wage of N2.9bn for February 2023, only N900 million was paid. As of now, I can tell the people of Plateau state without politicking that we are owing salaries up to May to the tune of N11bn and what we inherited in the coffers of the Plateau state Government is N1.1bn,” he said.
Mutfwang said that he did not pressurise the workers who are currently on strike to return to their duty posts because he was sourcing for money to enable him to pay them their entitlements before they could resume by the end of the month.
He said, “My administration is making efforts to raise the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) to boost the economy of the state,” the governor further said.
Gov Mutfwang also stated that he had spoken with President Tinubu one on one and the president charged him to revive the agricultural sector on the plateau, adding that it was already in the agenda of his administration to move the state forward, by prioritizing agriculture, which is one of the key Cardinal points of his administration.
The Governor said that after the state agriculture outfit, ASTC, what he saw there was amusing, because the potentials of the outfit had been abused by the past administration, stressing that ASTC has the capacity to feed plateau and the country.
Mutfwang described the employment that was done 2weeks before the expiration of the last administration and backdated, as an abuse of the process.
He clarified that he did not sack the workers recruited during the exercise but only suspended them to pave the way for investigation because of the irregularities perpetrated by the past government during their recruitment.
The Governor said that the process was fraudulent and not done according to the rule of law, but noted that a committee had been set up to look into to it and advise government appropriately.
According to Mutfwang, “The time is now, Plateau is our own, we have no place to go than plateau, we will fix it and bring back the lost glory of the state, we shall develop man power capacity boost the educational sector and invite investors, and the area of security can not be taken lightly as the safety of lives and properties of the citizens will be an our priority.”
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Acting General Manager of Plateau Radio Television Corporation (PRTV) Mr Yukubu Taddy, said the station was ever ready to work with and promote the good governance by the Caleb Mutfwang administration.
He lauded the governor for recognizing the media at his inaugural speech, noting that the media were critical stakeholders in promoting democracy, that would help the government champion their cause and always be supportive.
