Abdulrazaq, who spoke in Ilorin on Friday while receiving the new executive of the Kwara State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress led by its chairman, Comrade Saheed Olayinka, dismissed the claim that he would sack workers in his second term.
He described the rumour “as a product of simplistic thinking… as we definitely have no such agenda because it brings no good to the state or the government itself.”
AbdulRazaq, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, said he looked forward to working harmoniously with the labour unions, insisting that workers’ salaries and improved welfare would remain a top priority for his administration.
He said: “We have heard the opposition saying that we are going to sack workers. They are saying this because there’s nothing for them to campaign with again. They didn’t know it is much more expensive to sack workers than to maintain them. They think if you remove 50 workers from the ministry of works, then you are not paying salaries for 50 persons.
“It doesn’t work that way. That is simplistic thinking. Yes, in the Ministry of Works, you may have a gap of 50. But you have to go to the Ministry of Finance because you have to pay pensions and gratuities for the same 50 people, which is a lot more than sacking anyone. This is besides the social implications.
“If you sack a worker, you are only saving possibly 30%, but you are again loading pension and gratuities. It is cheaper for us to maintain civil servants than to sack them. So, that is not on our agenda. It does not benefit us or society as every family has a civil servant at least. We are not going to sack workers. We are determined to improve your welfare instead.
“We will continue to work with you. Our doors are always open. We have a policy to hire any doctor available because doctors are leaving this country every day or leaving state hospitals for federal health facilities. So, we need more hands.”
Speaking earlier, the new NLC chairman said the governor had been a progressive leader who truly cares for the people of the state including workers.
“As we love our state, Kwara, we are so much in love with our governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for being so caring for our community. We are monitoring the trend of events in the state and the achievements recorded so far as quite visible and laudable. Recently, I was told that the promotion of local government workers for the year 2022 is currently being released. Kudos to your administration.
“No worker will feel happy when they are stagnant on a level for years without promotion. So, workers of Kwara State since the beginning of your administration are happy and encouraged. It is our desire and belief that you should continue in this rightful direction. We pray Allah will continue to guide and protect you,” he said.
