Date: 2021-07-28

·Says blinds can see AbdulRazaq's impacts in education sector No goverment worker or member of the Nigerian Union of Teachers earns below the national minimum wage of N30,000 in Kwara State, chairman Olu Adewara clarified on Tuesday, calling on the AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq administration to continue to prioritise workers' welfare.

Adewara said even the blind can see the huge impacts the administration has had on the education sector within the short period of its reign but urged it to consider the workers' request on contributory pension, outstanding promotion issues at the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), and consequential adjustment.

"Of course, there are other pressing matters which we would like the government to look at, among which we have the minimum wage consequential adjustment for grade levels 07 and above. We thank you that minimum wage in Kwara has been paid because there is no worker in Kwara State that earns below N30,000. So, the issue of minimum wage is settled and I want you to preach that gospel because some people did not understand," Adewara said.

"We are part of the states that have implemented the minimum wage but the consequential adjustment from levels 07 and above is what we are praying Your Excellency for."

The administration has repeatedly said it now pays the minimum wage of N30,000 and will address the question of consequential adjustments for the higher cadres as revenue improves and in line with economic situation.

"Let me mention some among other things that gladden our hearts: the beginning of your tenure put a permanent stop to salary payment on percentage to all our SUBEB teachers, payment of counterpart funds to UBEC and normalisation of the relationship with UBEC, payment made to WAEC on behalf of schools that were labelled for examination misconduct, among others," Comrade Adewara said during the NUT's courtesy visit to the Governor in Ilorin. Adewara particularly appreciated the Governor for the approval of implementation of promotion arrears of teachers and other SUBEB staff from the year 2017 to 2020.

The Governor, for his part, reiterated his commitment to workers' welfare, including that of the teachers.

"We will not play with our teachers because you are the foundation of the society. If we get it wrong with our teachers, anything else will be a mess", the Governor said.

The NUT leadership had come to commend the Governor for the approval of implementation of promotion arrears of teachers and other SUBEB staff for years 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, as well as raise some other pending issues on teachers' welfares.

Paying premium attention to the welfare of the teachers and other state workers is one of the priorities of the administration, the Governor said.

He commended the teachers for their efforts despite the challenging circumstances they had found themselves.

He explained that total neglect of the education and other sectors in the past means the administration is having to sink a lot of funds into fixing basic amenities to bring Kwara at par with its contemporaries.

The Governor said the people at the helms of affairs in the state, including himself, were making sacrifices so that the administration could deliver good governance to the people.

"It is not that so much resources are there, but we need to do the needful to fix our states," he added.

Rafiu Ajakaye

Chief Press Secretary to the Governor

July 27, 2021