The Kwara and Sokoto state governments have announced that civil servants will be paid their salaries upon authentication of their Bank Verification Numbers, BVN.
According to a statement by his spokesperson, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State on Sunday said all civil servants in the state must submit their BVN numbers before they could be paid April salaries.
Mr. Tambuwal said submission of the BVN forms part of the ongoing verification of staff workforce and the updating of records of all employees in the state civil service.
The directive also affects workers at the local government level.
Mr. Tambuwal’s spokesperson, Imam Imam, also said the state Head of Service has been instructed to ensure prompt compliance to enable all workers update their records.
The statement said the ongoing verification exercise at local governments has helped save some money and efforts will continue until the payroll is completely sanitized.
In Kwara, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed gave an assurance that the verification of workers in the state through the BVN will end the delay in the payment of salaries in the state, his spokesperson, Abdulwahab Oba, said in a statement.
Mr. Ahmed gave this assurances at a meeting with the All Progressives Congress, APC, leaders in Ilorin, the state capital. He said through the presentation of the BVN, salaries of local governments workers and State Universal Basic Education teachers, which had been a major problem, would become a thing of the past.
According to the statement, the governor said the approval by the Debt Management Office of the N20 billion Bond to be secured by the State meant the tempo of the development of infrastructure in the state would be faster.
Some of the projects tied to the bond, the governor said, include the expansion of some major roads in the state capital, construction of two new campuses of Kwara State University in Ilesha-Baruba and Osi in Baruten and Ekiti local government areas respectively.
“With increased internally generated revenue, youth empowerment and employment programme of this administration would also improve tremendously,” he said.
Governor Ahmed called for greater unity among the people of the state, adding that “our strength is in our unity as it creates better understanding and development ; indications that things will get better.”
On local government elections, Mr. Ahmed charged APC local government and ward chairmen and other notable members in the state to be fully prepared in their respective council areas through inclusive approach in the emergence of candidates for elections in all the 16 local government areas of the state.
He advised that the principle of zoning, loyalty, and credibility be put into consideration before councillorship and chairmanship candidates could emerge.
(Source: PREMIUM TIMES)