A total of N3.1bn of Kaduna State’s N4.49bn March 2021 wage bill went into paying the salaries of civil servants in the state.

Kaduna State Government stated this, saying its 31,064 civil servants alone earned 93.55 percent of the state’s total wage bill for that month.

It added that pension payments and contributions for salaries of primary healthcare workers gulped N1.1bn while 337 political appointees were paid N259m also in March.

The government explained that the N4.49 billion does not include the wages of local government employees.

The breakdown is contained in a statement by Muyiwa Adekeye, Special Adviser on Media and Communication to Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

He explained that the breakdown was necessary in view of claims in some quarters  that the salaries of  political appointees gulp a large chunk of the state’s personnel cost.

Adekeye said, “The state government’s total wage bill in March 2021 was N4.498bn. That month, the direct salary bill was N3.39bn, as the 31,064 state civil servants earned N3.13bn, while the 337 political appointees were paid N259.17 million.

“Other components of the monthly wage bill were: payments of N478.8m to pensioners on defined benefits, N253.72m as the state government’s 40 percent contribution to the salaries of primary healthcare workers, N197.4m as eight percent  pension contribution and N173.3m for the  five per cent  retirement benefit bond.”

The statement also dismissed the suggestion that the government should  use part of  its Internally Generated Revenue(IGR)  and all Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) revenues to  maintain its machinery and pay its less than 100,000 workers.

Adekeye recalled that the government announced its intention to right-size its workforce in April, as part of efforts to manage its fiscal challenges. He added that the exercise would affect political appointees and civil servants.

He said, “In April 2021, the government also released details of its FAAC receipts and personnel costs in the six months leading to March 2021. These figures showed that personnel costs account for between 84.97 percent and 96.63 per cent of the state’s FAAC revenues.

“In November 2020, government had only N162.9m left after paying salaries. That month, the state got N4.83bn from FAAC and paid N4.66bn as wages. In March 2021, the state had only N321m left after settling personnel costs.”

He further said that the government  got N4.819bn from FAAC and paid out N4.498bn, representing 93 percent of the money received.

“The balance cannot cover the funding requirements for standing orders, security, and other costs essential to running the government, and the total does not include the wages of local government staff,” Adekeye added.

According to him, the government which was the first to pay the current minimum wage in September 2019 will continue to honour this commitment.