No Ghost Workers In Suleja Local Govt – Chairman

At a time that both the federal and state governments are lamenting huge sums of money being paid to ‘ghost’ workers, the Chairman, Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, Hon. Ahmed Dikko Kassim has declared that there is no such situation in the area. Speaking in an interview with nationalTrail shortly after swearing-in his Special Advisers and Political Mobilizers at the local government headquarters, Kassim said what exists in the area is the issue of redundant workers. “After a thorough verification exercise, I discovered that there are no ghost workers in my local government, rather what we have is the issue of redundant workers and duplication of duties. “Recall that some time ago, some states created additional local government areas which were abolished by the National Assembly, Niger state was one of them and after the abolishment, the workers already recruited were absorbed by the existing local government. “From my findings, the only option left for me is to retrench those workers to be able to pay salaries and wages, but as a politician, I cannot do that because it could spell doom for the political party on which platform I won the election”, he said. Speaking further, Kassim who also used the occasion to mark his 100 days in office said currently
he spends over N86 million to pay salaries and wages of local government staff every month despite the fact that since he assumed office on February 11, 2016, no capital release has come to the local government. Attributing his success so far to God and his determination to fulfill his electioneering campaign promises to his people, he also disclosed that the local government is blessed with revenue generating sources which he said if properly harnessed, the local government can sustain its recurrent expenditure. Speaking on his new appointments, Hon. Kassim explained that he appointed 66 Political Mobilizers and 11 Special Advisers who he promised to pay from his pocket as a sacrifice to ensure an improved living standard for his people before the economy improves. The Chairman who said he was optimistic that the current economic hardship in the country would soon come to pass appealed to the people of Suleja Local Government Area and Nigerians in general to exercise patience with the Buhari administration because according to him, the expected change is already around the corner. Among the Special Assistants is a practicing Journalist, Abdullahi Abubakar Suleja who was appointed as the Senior Special Assistant on Inter Agency Relations as well as Mr. Chidiebere Anyamene whose portfolio is Special Adviser on Inter Tribal Matters.