Why we paid workers salaries before Sallah – Dankwambo

Gombe State Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo has said that payment of salary of workers should not be counted as an achievement as it is the legitimate right of those who work to receive their wage and as at when due.

The governor added that his administration has never failed to pay workers their salaries, since according to him, it is inhuman for any leader to deny citizens their legitimate means of livelihood.

Dankwambo stated this on Friday in a Sallah Message by his Senior Special Adviser, Press, Junaidu Usman Abubakar and made available to The Daily Times.

According to him, Gombe State started paying salaries of workers on Wednesday and the aim is to ensure that workers and their families celebrate Sallah with happiness and ease.

Junaidu said, “Gombe State Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo is number one in Nigeria when it comes to salary payment as in many other areas. The Talban Gombe considers it as inhuman for anybody to deny workers their legitimate means of livelihood. So, here in Gombe, workers’ salaries come first.

“The Governor approved the release of salaries since Tuesday. By Wednesday, workers began to receive their pay. For Gombe, we don’t even consider salary payment as a big deal because from beginning the governor made it clear that nobody that worked should not be denied his means of livelihood.”

The statement also contained goodwill message by the Governor to the people of Gombe State and Nigerians in general.

“The Governor wishes the good people of Gombe State and Nigerians in general a peaceful celebration as he prays for the continued unity and progress of the Nigeria,” the statement added.

But when reminded that two other states like Adamawa and Bauchi states equally paid their state workers before Sallah, Junaidu said there is a wide difference between the pre-Sallah payment by Gombe State and that of others because while the other states have months of unpaid salaries, Gombe is on a clean slate.

“We in Gombe don’t like competitive competition or comparing ourselves with our sister states. However, since you raised the question, I would like to say that Gombe does not owe workers at all while these other states owe their workers.

If you owe workers six months salaries and pay June Salary because of Sallah, it may just have cosmetics effect because people will still be grumbling that they are being owed. So it is quite a different scenario with what obtains in Gombe.

“You should also be reminded that the Nigeria Labour Congress has earlier conferred on Dankwambo the award of the most labour friendly governor because of the priority he attaches to not only workers salaries but their welfare in general,” Junaidu added