Zamfara State Commissioner for Finance Rabiu Garba has declared that in the whole eight years of former Governor Yari of Zamfara State he has never for once paid the state civil servants their annual leave grants.
Mr Rabiu Garba who declaration during a radio phone in programme on Sunday noted that, though statutorily it is a right for every civil servant who is not receiving consolidated salary structure to be paid annual leave grants, the money can only be paid if the economy of the state is viable enough to accommodate it.
He noted that, for long several other states in Nigeria have not being paying annual leave grants to their civil servants, saying the present administration has been able to pay the state civil servants their 2019 annual leave grants ahead of the last year’s Id-el Kabir festivity hence the economy of the state was relatively viable as at that time.
As for the 2020 annual leave grants Rabiu said, “as soon as the state financial flow becomes relatively stable, state workers would be paid”.
He emphasized that the leave grants debacle will surely be settled before the end of the 2020 fiscal year.
He also appeal to the state civil servants to be patience with the government concerning leave grants hence the government according to him cannot use the little resources it is earning to pay for leave grants and leaves behind other sensitive social services such as provision of water, security, health care management, among others to what he described as non visible faith.
