By Balkis Tijani.
Kwara State Governor, Alh. Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has exonerated his administration from all blame following complaints from SUBEB workers about certain deductions from their August salaries.
The governor, who spoke through a statement issued on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye expressed shock at the development, while noting that urgent steps have been taken to get deeper insight on the matter.
The statement, however explained that the deductions from August salaries were of two types: The annual dues accruing to the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) which all members of the national body are mandated to pay, and the deduction of the normal Pay As you Earn (PAYE) of SUBEB.
The statement added that authorities at SUBEB claimed that workers had been fully briefed on the TRCN dues through the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT).
“They said the TRCN dues ought to have been deducted since July but they did not do so because they expected the NUT to properly inform their members of this development before it is deducted.
“The TRCN dues deducted from the SUBEB workers depend on the grade level of the affected workers. Grade Levels 7-10 paid 2,000; GL 12-14 paid 3,000; while GL 15 and above paid 4,000. Principals under the umbrella of ANCOPS were also surcharged.
“For PAYE, authorities at KW-IRS said they had for over two years not been taking the normal PAYE from SUBEB workers on compassionate grounds because their salaries had not been regular or 100%. The decision to deduct their normal PAYE followed the trend of consistent and complete salaries they have been getting since the new administration came on board”, Ajakaye explained.
The governor’s spokesman pointed to the fact that the deductions were reflected in the workers’ pay slips, while calling on those with complaints of deductions other than the above stated to make their cases known.
He appealed to the affected workers to forgive the government’s “lack of proper explanation” prior to the statutory deductions, while urging government agencies and departments to ensure effective communication to avoid misunderstanding.
“Now, while we may agree with the explanations about these statutory deductions, we regret to note that the affected workers were clearly not properly briefed by various organs that ought to do so.
“Going forward, we encourage various government agencies and departments to ensure proper communication of issues and development to avoid misunderstanding as this. There should be no assumptions.
“We appeal to workers to kindly forgive this obvious lack of proper explanation. We reassure them that this administration has no hidden agenda. The only agenda it has is to serve the larger interest of the people”, the CPS to the governor stated.
The Kwara State wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) also noted in a press release by its State Chairman, Com. Toyin Salihu, that “the salary of SUBEB teachers for the month of August is 100% but there are deductions of Teachers Professional Annual dues by TRCN for the year 2019 and also KWIRS tax deduction, (PAYE).”
Comrade Salihu, added that: “There will be pay slip for teachers to know the type of deductions made on their salary henceforth.”
