Ilorin
Kwara state government has been urged to rescind its decision of removing the salaries of the state civil servants,local government workers and pensioners from Micro Finance Banks(MFB), to save such banks from imminent collapse.
The State Chairman of MFB,Alhaji Ahmad Baba-Suleiman,gave advice in Ilorin on Wednesday while speaking with newsmen.
According to him, most of the workers owed the banks to the tune of N1billion,adding that if their salaries are removed the workers will not pay their debts.
Suleiman explained that the effort being made by the financial institutions to meet up with the Central Banks recapitalisation policy would be jeopardised, if the state government remained adamant on its decision.
He noted that the process would also deny the civil servants and the poor masses, the opportunity of services they derived from such financial institutions.
The chairman appealed to the state government to give the the affected banks time to enable them resolve the issues in dispute.
The state chairman assured the state government of the determination of the banks to ensure the state government view all payments to the civil servants.
Duaglobalnews recalls that the state government had earlier directed its workers operating microfinance banks, for their salary account, to immediately open accounts in commercial banks.
The Commissioner of Finance, Mrs Commissioner Florence Oyeyemi, told newsmen in Ilorin that the directive became necessary to ease process of salary payment and avoid technical errors which could cause unnecessary delay in workers getting their entitlements, as at when due.
“All Kwara state civil servants are mandated to open salary account with commercial banks between February 5 and 18,2020 for the purpose of salary payments as payment will no
longer be made to any Microfinance bank account,” she said.
The commissioner also said that the issue was in line with the agreements in place as negotiations on the payment of the new minimum wage reached an advanced stage.
