The coordinator, Taraba State Sanitation Agency, Mr. Iliya Kefas, has said the N13,000 paid to street sweepers in Jalingo was done in agreement with the workers.
Kefas stated this in reaction to speculations that the state government paid only N13,000 to sweepers instead of the earlier agreed N20,000 monthly.
He said the engagement and arrangement between the Taraba State Sanitation Agency and the workers on monthly allowances was N15,000, not N20,000 per month as speculated.
Street sweepers in Jalingo had on Thursday protested over the N13,000 paid, insisting that they were promised to be given N20,000 per month.
Kefas further explained that the overflow of unofficial street sweepers who were engaged without the knowledge of the management made the company handling activities of the sweepers to deduct N2000 from each to be able to manage the situation.
“We were asked by Governor Agbu Kefas to employ 2000 street sweepers to keep Jalingo clean on an allowance of N15,000 each. The reason we were unable to pay as directed by the governor was due to the inflow of the unofficial sweepers.
“Many people assumed the work without official engagement and we had also considered them during the payment, we deducted N2,000 each from the original street sweepers to pay those who overflowed our initial 2000 recruitment to manage the situation.
“I sincerely commend the street sweepers for their dedication to work so far. I wish to call on them to be more committed and calm, as the governor is also considering increment of their allowances.
“I wish to state here that money for their payment did not come through the sanitation agency but through IKA Multi Links Nig Limited, the company handling the activities of sweepers in the state.
“We did not deceive the sweepers as claimed, we were only human on the unofficial sweepers to make lives better and all of them agreed to it before the deduction was done,” Illiya said.
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