Lecturers of tertiary institutions in Sokoto State have commended Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal for fulfilling his promise to implement the new consolidated salary structure, whose implementation started last month.
Already, academic staff at the state-owned Umaru Ali Shinkafi Polytechnic and Shehu Shagari College of Education said they were organising a special prayer sessions to thank God for enabling them to see the end of their struggles to have the new salary structure implemented.
Agitations for implementation started in 2008, following the introduction of the Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure, and despite repeatedly engaging past administrations for implementation, their demands only materialized this year.
Speaking on the issue, Chairman of the College of Education Academic Staff Union, SSCOE chapter, Abubakar Arzika, said Governor Tambuwal had set the bar in the education sector and all lecturers would reciprocate the faith.
He said over the years, they had organised prayer sessions seeking God’s intervention, “now that we have achieved our aim, we will organise another prayers to thank God and pray for the government as it seeks to better the lot of the citizenry.”
On his part, Chairman of the Sokoto state chapter of the Joint National Public Service Negotiation Council, Abubakar S. Malami, said by proving that he was a labour-friendly governor, Tambuwal deserved the applause of all workers.
“We are confident that going forward, all our demands will be met,” he added.
Giving a rationale for the implementation of the new salary structure, Tambuwal’s spokesman, Malam Imam Imam, said it was introduced to enhance productivity and bring the pay structure of Sokoto’s tertiary institutions at par with what is obtainable across the Federation.
Imam said, “The overall objective of the state of emergency declared in the education sector in Sokoto is to make positive impact at all levels—basic, secondary and tertiary. Not only does the government engage in building new structures and rehabilitating old ones, we are fulfilling our promise to teachers and other non-academic staff.
“I recall during one of his meetings with lecturers ahead of the 2015 elections, the governor promised to implement the new salary structure and today, that promise has been fulfilled. The government will not relent in its efforts; we are also urging the lecturers to reciprocate government gesture by putting in their best for the development of the education sector of Sokoto State.”
Apart from the staff of the State Polytechnic and the College of Education, those from the College of Legal and Islamic Studies and College of Agriculture also benefited.
Similarly, the staff of the College of Nursing and Midwifery and College of Health Technology, Gwadabawa, have been paid the consolidated salary structure for health workers.
