By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

Kwara state governor has denies rumours making the rounds that the state government planned to retrench workers.

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq who made this clarification in Ilorin the state capital said the rumour was baseless and total falsehood.

He described the state workforce as major assets that keep the wheel of government running, while their monthly earnings contribute hugely to keeping the economy strong.

The Governor was speaking in an exclusive interview with the three state-owned media houses during which he also discussed politics, policies, programmes and some flagship projects of his administration such as the visual arts centre, garment factory, innovation hub, and some major roads in north, south, and central districts of the state.

He said: “Civil servants are very happy with us. We do not need to lay off anybody. We have been able to manage the resources to make sure that they get their salaries and as and when due. They are not burdens to the state. We do not have issues with civil servants. Where we have issues is the liability the former administration left in outstanding promotions of state and local government workers, and we are seriously working on it.

“From the previous administration, salaries were being owed. Pensions and gratuities were being owed. We are looking at about N11bn at the local government level alone. We’re looking forward to next year to cover a large part of that, as we have been doing. So, we are going back to the previous administration to clear what they have done wrong. But on our watch, we don’t have issues. At the state level, we have paid about N5bn in gratuities and they are happy. Nobody is going to be sacked. We need our civil servants, we need their experiences.

“Why would you sack civil servants when you consider the cost of sacking them to the state economy? It is cheaper for you to maintain civil servants than to sack them. So, we are maintaining our civil servants. We are working closely with them.”

End