El-Rufai orders senior state officials to forfeit 50% of salaries for COVID-19 relief

Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State has ordered senior civil servants and political appointees in the state to forfeit 50 percent of their salaries to fund the next phase of provition of relief items to vulnerable people in the state.

The Kaduna State Government on Sunday extended the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in the state by 30 days.

The media aide to the governor, Muyiwa Adekeye, in a statement on Monday, explained that those concerned by the governor’s order on salary cut include commissioners, permanent secretaries, special advisers, and heads of agencies.

According to the statement, El-Rufai directed that each of the concerned persons should donate N500,000 in April 2020 while the 50 per cent salary donations would be effective in the subsequent months till the lockdown is lifted in the state.

Read also: Borno govt finds 1 Covid-19 escapee patient in critical state, searches for one more

“The extension of the quarantine conditions 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 state government has done the first phase of distribution of food across 59 community clusters in nine local government areas. The next phase will be conducted across the 23 local government areas.

“To fund the provision of these support packages, 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 10 million persons living in the state to survive and thrive in this emergency period.

“Therefore, the Kaduna State Government has directed all its senior appointees, including Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries, Special Advisers and Heads of Agencies to each donate N500,000 in April 2020. In subsequent months, they will donate 50% of their salaries until the quarantine ends,” the statement said.

Kaduna State has recorded 15 positive cases of the COVID-19 disease going by the latest data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

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