By Umar Bayo Abdulwahab
Ilorin
Kwara state government has challenged the minister of National Planning and Deputy Chairman, National Planning Commission, Dr. Suleiman Abubakar, to come up with data to proof his claims that civil servants in Kwara state were the least paid in the country.
Reacting to the minster’s comment in a statement in Ilorin yesterday, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abdulfatha Ahmed on Media and Communications, Dr. Muyideen Akorede, said the state government should rather be commended for prompt payment of salaries despite fall in allocations from the federation’s account.
He said: “We expect a Minister of National Planning to be more circumspect and factual in his claims against the Ahmed administration. What is the basis of this clearly fallacious claim that our workers are the least paid? For Dr Suleiman’s information, the Ahmed administration was among the first in the country to pay the minimum wage to its workers.
“Despite the huge drop in FAAC allocations which we assume the minister is aware of, Kwara State is perhaps one of the few states with a pay day and has ensured civil servants are paid without fail. This feat is unlike the situation in several PDP-controlled states that are in several months arrears in salary payment.”
He added: “We urge the minister to stop playing politics with the welfare of Kwara workers who have cast their lot with the worker-friendly Ahmed administration and focus on making an impact in his National Planning Ministry rather than making claims with no factual basis.
“On hospitals, it makes more sense for the state government to fix existing structures before establishing new ones. We invite the minister to visit the remodeled Ilorin General Hospital and see how it been transformed into a first class facility before questioning the cost.
“We are also bewildered that the Honourable Minister questions the administration’s rehabilitation of existing roads, including those abandoned by the federal government. Where was Dr Suleiman when the Ahmed administration revamped more than 40 rural roads in partnership with LGs? Or when the state government intervened on Federal Roads such as Zango/Oyun Bridge Road, Fate Road, Ilorin, and parts of Ajase-Ipo Erin Road?
“We urge the national planning to back his criticism with data that must be available in his office instead of indulging in unsubstantiated claims against the Ahmed administration in the name of politicking.”
