COVID-19: El-Rufai orders 50 per cent salary slash for political appointees

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has directed all senior government appointees in the state including Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries, Special Advisers and Heads of Agencies to each donate N500,000 in April 2020 as their contribution in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.

According to a statement issued by his media Adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye , El-Rufai says that the extension of the quarantine conditions by another 30 days imposes an obligation to make provision for the low income, poor and vulnerable persons that would be adversely affected, as they may be unable to earn any income while the lockdown persists.

The governor further directed that the political appointees will subsequently donate 50% of their salaries until the quarantine ends.

He also notes that other categories of political appointees will also be making monthly donations to support the provision of relief to the low income, poor and vulnerable residents of the state.

He also directed that Career public servants earning a net pay of N67,000 and above after tax will also donate 25% of their pay monthly whilst the quarantine conditions are in place, adding that no public servant will have less N50,000 monthly to manage in this emergency period.

According to El-Rufai, “We are obliged to demonstrate that as government workers, we care enough for others to donate part of our earnings for their wellbeing. As a state government, we are also seeking donations from high net worth individuals, the private sector and development partners to support our efforts to contain Covid-19 and its consequences”.

“To fund the provision of these support packages, the Kaduna State Government expects all those fortunate enough to still earn a regular income to live up to their neighbourly responsibility towards those who are unable to earn any money due to no fault of theirs. Therefore, the less than 100, 000 persons who work for the Kaduna State Government as political appointees and public servants must contribute financially towards enabling the almost 10m persons living in the state to survive and thrive in this emergency period”.

“The Kaduna State Government wishes to inform potential donors that we prefer donations to be in kind: personal protective equipment, PCR machines, medical facilities and equipment, facemasks, food, pharmaceuticals, and fertilizer, seeds and seedlings and other support for farmers. The state government will publicly acknowledge all donations in addition to the letters of appreciation that shall be sent to all donors. (Channels TV)