By Chijioke Kingsley
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – The Governor of Plateau State, Barr. Caleb Muftwang has said the immediate past governor of the State, Simon Lalong left N11 billion unpaid salaries of workers in Plateau State.
Muftwang said he realised that Lalong was owing up to 3 months before he left office.
He also said only N1.1 billion was left in the treasury of Plateau State by Lalong’s administration.
“What we inherited in the coffers of the Plateau State Government was N1.1bn”.
The Governor said the amount met in the coffers is not enough to offset the backlog of salaries, saying that he is sourcing a loan to pay the workers so they can go back to work by the end of the month.
“Out of the wages of N2.9bn for the month of February 2023, only N900 million was paid to the workers by the past administration.
“As of now, I can tell the people of Plateau, without politicking, that we are owing salaries up to May to the tune of N11 billion.
“I have not pressured the workers who are currently on strike to return to their duty posts because I am sourcing for money to enable me to pay their salaries before they could resume work by the end of the month”, he said.
Muftwang also clarified that he did not sack any worker employed by the Lalong’s administration, saying that he only suspended them to pave way for due process.
“We did not sack any worker but only suspended the recruitment exercise because we discovered that some of them who were employed by the past administration had their employment letters backdated. This is wrong. So, we are investigating the matter to ensure that laid down rules and regulations are followed,” the Governor said.
