The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has ordered 50 per cent salary slash for political appointees in the state.
El-Rufai directed all Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries, Special Advisers, Head of Agencies and all senior government appointees to donate 50 percent of their salaries to the fight against COVID-19 in the state.
He said political appointees in the state will donate 50 per cent of their salaries until the quarantine period is over.
The governor stated this in a statement issued and signed by his Media Adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye.
El-Rufai said the monthly donations were to support the provision of relief to the low income, poor and vulnerable residents of the state.
According to El-Rufai, “We are obliged to demonstrate that as government workers, we care enough for others to donate part of our earnings for their wellbeing. As a state government, we are also seeking donations from high net worth individuals, the private sector and development partners to support our efforts to contain Covid-19 and its consequences.
“To fund the provision of these support packages, the Kaduna State Government expects all those fortunate enough to still earn a regular income to live up to their neighbourly responsibility towards those who are unable to earn any money due to no fault of theirs.
“Therefore, the less than 100, 000 persons who work for the Kaduna State Government as political appointees and public servants must contribute financially towards enabling the almost 10m persons living in the state to survive and thrive in this emergency period.
“The Kaduna State Government wishes to inform potential donors that we prefer donations to be in kind: personal protective equipment, PCR machines, medical facilities and equipment, facemasks, food, pharmaceuticals, and fertilizer, seeds and seedlings and other support for farmers. The state government will publicly acknowledge all donations in addition to the letters of appreciation that shall be sent to all donors.”