Salary deduction: Assembly summons HoS, AG

ALL may not have been heard yet over the recent deductions from the salaries and allowances of civil servants in Bauchi State as the House of Assembly has summoned the State Head of Civil Service (HoS) and the Accountant General (AG) to appear before it on Wednesday 4 July 2018 to explain the circumstances that led to to the action.

The resolution to invite the duo followed a motion moved on the floor of House by the member representing Dass constituency in the House, Maryam Garba Bagel on Thursday as the members resumed plenary from their Ramadan fasting recess.

Maryam Garba Bagel who is the only female member of the House had while moving the motion expressed concern over the deductions from the salaries and allowances of all categories of workers in the state when May salaries were paid.

She queried that, “Why should a sitting Head of Service come out to declare that the deductions made from the salaries are from illegal allowances with his experience in the civil service.”

Maryam Garba Bagel added that “The Head of Service is telling us that all these years that he has served as one of the civil servants, he has been approving such illegal allowances knowingly.”

“Is he saying there is any allowances our workers have been receiving that has neither executive approval nor structural approval?” she further queried.

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The legislator further expressed concern over the transfer of salary payment from the office of the Accountant General to the office of the Head of Civil Service and therefore called on the House to as a matter of urgency invite the Head of Civil Service to explain reasons for the sudden salary deductions from the wages of civil servants.

She also urged her colleagues to invite the Accountant General of the State to explain his role in transferring the functions of his office to the office of Head of Civil Service.

The lawmaker further called on the House to mandate the Executive arm to make available to the House the report of all verification exercises conducted in the state as well as the report of the transition committee.

Maryam Bagel further called for the formation of a special committee of the House that will study the reports and get back to the House for further action.

While seconding the motion, member representing Lere\Bula Constituency, Muhammad Aminu Tukur described the motion as timely, adding that the motion will restore sanity in the civil service of the state.

After deliberations of the motion, the lawmakers resolved that the HoS and the AG should appear before the House on Wednesday, July 4, 2018, to brief the House just as they also resolved to form a committee that will study the report of the sittings and report back to the House for scrutiny.

It would be recalled that most civil servants in the state noticed deductions from their May salaries and allowances a development which government later ascribed to “human error” promising to revert the deductions subsequently.