Presidency assures public servants of December salary, dismisses circular

By ISMAILA CHAFE

The Presidency has dismissed the claims in some quarters that public servants will not get paid in December due to shortfall in budgetary allocations.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a circular which purportedly issued by the Federal Government advised police officers and federal civil servants to spend their November salaries wisely because their December salaries may be delayed till January 2022.

However, Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, who spoke to State House correspondents on Thursday in Abuja, dismissed the circular, saying President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration “takes the issue of payment of salaries more seriously”.

According to him, the Buhari administration attaches great importance to the welfare of its workers, especially the payment of their wages.

“I have not been briefed about this issue but what I can tell you is that nobody takes the issue of payment of salaries more seriously than President Muhammadu Buhari.

“To give you an example, only two weeks ago or so, the National Economic Council announced that the President had approved this huge amount of money over N18 billion to each state of the federation to take care of outstanding pensions and salaries.

“So, logically speaking, if the President will help States to pay; he has done this many times, from 2015, he saw it as a national crisis.

“He did this kind of support to States not less than three times before this one,” he stated.

He, therefore, advised workers, especially public servants, not to be upset with such circulars but remain calm, as their salaries would be paid.

Shehu added: “So, if he will help States to pay, why would President Buhari decline to pay salaries?

“For the president, salary is so important that he is looking beyond the Federal and he is holding the hands of the States to join him in doing so, please, people should not be unnecessarily upset.” (NAN)

•Senior Presidential Media Aide Garba Shehu