The Borno state governor, Kashim Shettima has apologised to civil servants in the state over the government’s inability to pay salaries before the Eid celebrations.
The governor stated this at the Government House on return from Ranat Square Maiduguri where he joined hundreds of worshippers for the Eid Fitri prayers marking the end of this year’s Ramadan season. The governor noted that salaries are very important to workers in the state especially now that Borno has become a purely civil service state owing to the activities of insurgents in farming communities.
According to him, the payment of salaries was stalled by technical hitches occasioned by the new system of payment since the biometric exercise was introduced. Only those on table payment were successfully paid before the Eid celebrations. The governor also revealed that there is food insecurity in the state as a result of stoppage of farming activities in most farming communities in the state.
The 15 metric tonnes of food items allocated to the state by the Federal Government would go a long way in addressing the problem, Shettima says.
Meanwhile, worshippers observed the Eid prayers under local vigilante and civil security watch to avoid infiltration by bad elements in a suicide mission. The Borno state Police command had earlier placed a ban on vehicular movement until the Eid prayers were over. Residents complied with the directive, walking to the closest Eid grounds to their home to be part of the celebrations.
There was a massive turnout in most prayer grounds within the capital city, with the Rabat Square filled to capacity despite recent happenings in parts of the state.
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