Why Jigawa can't pay new wage now, by Lamido

Threatens Sharia action against ACN bossCONTRARY to the recent declaration by the chairman of the Jigawa State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) that the government had agreed to pay the N18,000 minimum wage in principle, Governor Sule Lamido has said the state cannot pay now because it was not captured in the 2011 budget.Lamido, who addressed journalists at the Government House, Dutse, said 'the N18,000 minimum wage was not captured in our 2011 budget and no provision for minimum wage therein. We cannot source funds outside the budget to pay new salaries and if we do that, it will amount to illegality'.According to the governor, Jigawa workers are not wage-earners but stakeholders and partners that are ready to render services for the development of the state.'We believe in our workers as dignified indigenes who are ever-ready to offer selfless services for the progress of the state, hence they will not sell their services', he said.It will berecalled that the NLC Chairman in the state, Malam Suleman Kiyawa, announced last month that the state government had agreed in principle to pay N18,000 as minimum wage to comply with the content of the agreement by national negotiation team.Meanwhile, Governor Lamido has threatened to sue the Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the state, Alhaji Hassan Fulata, for allegedly maligning his integrity at the tribunal.Lamido, who spoke with journalists shortly after his victory at the tribunal in Dutse, said he would resort to the Sharia court to seek redress to serve as lesson for upcoming youths to desist from the attitude of running down other people for no reason.The governorship election petition tribunal verdict in Dutse dismissed the petition of the ACN against Lamido who was alleged to have forged WAEC certificate. The ACN also alleged irregularities in the 2011 governorship election.The party filed a petition on May 17, 2011, against Lamido that he did not finish from Barewa College, Zaria, and that what he tendered to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was a forged WAEC certificate.Lamido said his intention to sue his former special assistant when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs was not for vendetta but to set the record straight for the state and future generation to learn from.His words: 'I do not want to be seen as pursuing a personal revenge but I also want to set a standard in the state. I am not taking him to Sharia Court because I am aggrieved but as a governor and a leader, I do not want upcoming generation to behave this way.'Barewa College is a well-known school. How can I lie if I did not pass out from the college and said I did' Therefore, it is a personal insult and embarrassment to me and I must take him to court'.
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