Zamfara State governor, Dauda Lawal, has ordered the immediate stoppage of all non-statutory deductions, notably cooperative associations and commodity vendors’ deductions from workers’ salaries.
Zamfara State’s employees had raised multiple complaints regarding deductions made through the state’s payroll system.
In a statement issued in Gusau, the spokesperson to the governor, Sulaiman Bala Idris, disclosed that the governor’s directive aimed at banning all unauthorised and illegal deductions made through the Zamfara State Government payroll platform.
The statement read in part: “In his resolve to sanitize the Zamfara State Payroll system for more efficient management of state civil servants’ remuneration currently inundated with a lot of unauthorized and illegal deductions, Governor Dauda Lawal has ordered an immediate halt to all Non Statutory deductions from workers’ salaries.
“The decision was made due to numerous complaints about deductions from workers’ salaries, some of which were used to facilitate an illegal surcharge of the workers in the name of cooperatives & commodity loan repayments.
“Governor Lawal has instructed the Commissioner of Finance to stop all of such deductions from workers’ salaries and to communicate the same information to all cooperative societies & other Commodity Vendors.
“For more clarity, the only allowed statutory deductions comprise the following:
PAYE; Union dues; NHF; ZAMCHEMA; Water rate; FMB (Rent to Own); FMB (Home Renovation); Housing Corp Loan.
“The present administration in Zamfara state is committed to implementing measures that support the welfare and development of the civil servants. This includes enhancing working conditions, providing necessary resources, and creating a conducive environment to ensure a highly competent, motivated, and productive workforce.”