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The Sokoto State Government has explained the recent salary deductions for some employees of the state civil service, saying the deductions are for loan repayment of the affected employees.
Abba Muhamed Mualedi, Permanent Secretary of the state’s Ministry of Finance, said on Wednesday that the deduction was required due to outstanding loans taken by the affected workers from various financial institutions.
“The affected state civil service employees had collected loans from multiple financial institutions during the previous government in the state,” Mualedi said.
“The affected financial institutions have written to me on my assumption of office as Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, demanding the repayment of loans to defaulters.”
Mualedi said the investigation found that the amounts deducted from the salaries of affected employees under the previous administration were not transferred to the affected financial institutions.
He added that this oversight led to the current situation where affected personnel are receiving deductions to clear their outstanding loans.
The Permanent Secretary also said that the ministry is addressing the issue and ensuring transparency and fairness in the loan repayment process, adding that a meeting with the payroll department has been held to resolve the anomalies and regulate loan disbursements. He pointed out that
“I met with the Payroll Department to discuss how to deal with all these abnormalities.The committee will work with the leadership of the Nigeria Labor Congress and the affected financial institutions in the state.”
Muredi said the ministry is working with all financial institutions in the state to standardize loan records in order to regulate loan acquisition by state employees.
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Source: guardian.ng