The Kwara State Government has finally cleared all the salary arrears for SUBEB teachers and local government workers it inherited from the administration of former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed.
According to a statement issued by Babatunde Toyin Abdulrasheed, the Press Secretary, Ministry of Finance, and made available to The Guardian, figures from the last allocation meeting of the local government showed that the state government committed N1,297,389,165.83 to clear the balance of the arrears owed to the SUBEB teachers.
Another N1,622,673,992.12 was apportioned to clear the balance of the arrears for the local government workers in the past administration, according to the data from the allocation meeting.
The statement added that between January 2020 and January 2024, the administration has spent at least N5.5bn to offset the arrears of salary for SUBEB teachers, local government workers and local government pensioners – apart from meeting its multibillion naira monthly obligations to these categories of workers and many others since it was elected in 2019.
The statement further added that the state government has approved cash-backing for the implementation of the 2022 promotion for teaching and non-teaching staff of the SUBEB, a decision that is part of the government’s efforts to boost the purchasing powers of workers.
The statement also stated that the final settlement of the SUBEB and Local Government salary arrears brings to a close the consistent agitation for the payment of the money, which dated back to 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Recall that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has constantly said he would clear all the salary and promotion arrears he inherited from his predecessor, a campaign promise he has fulfilled in phases since he assumed office in 2019.
