Sule Directs Immediate Payment of Palliative to Workers, Pensioners
Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia
Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, yesterday directed the immediate payment of N10,000 and N5,000 respectively to civil servants and pensioners in the state as palliative to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.
The directive also included paying the same amount for workers and pensioners at the Local Government level. The governor gave the directive after meeting with labour leaders at the Government House, Lafia yesterday.
Consequently, Sule directed the state Accountant General, Head of Civil Service, Commissioner Ministry for Local Government, Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Director General, Nasarawa State Pension Bureau, as well as the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), to liaise together with a view to commencing the payment of the palliative immediately.
“The arrangement for the palliative is very simple. The federal government will give us N4 billion in cash, as well as N1 billion in cash in order to cushion the hardship created by the removal of the fuel subsidy.
“The N1 billion is going to be in form of a loan which the state is going to pay back. The N4 billion is going to be divided into two; N2.08 billion would be borne by the federal government, N1.02 billion is by the state.”
“It is a grant and loan combined together. Every state has taken N2 billion so far,” he stated.
The governor explained that even at that, there were conditions tied to the money given by the federal government on how the money is to be expended.
“A lot of people don’t understand much about that N4 billion. The way it was calculated was that we are going to buy 100,000 bags of 50kg rice at N40, 000 per bag, and share in the state. That is the understanding of Mr. President. Part of it is loan, part of it is grant. But you are going to buy 100,000 bags of rice.
“This one that we are talking about that we are giving as palliative, including the N10,000 and N5,000, is not out of this N2 billion. I think it’s good that we have that clear understanding. The Local Governments are giving out of their improved allocation, out of the improved revenue that we are getting as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy,” Sule explained.
