Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris has declared that his administration does not owe teachers, civil servants or pensioners any salary arrears, pensions or gratuities, citing a deliberate policy of leadership by example and fiscal discipline that has kept the state up to date on all worker entitlements across state, local government and local government education authority levels.
Idris made the declaration on Tuesday at the ongoing 59th (8th Quadrennial) National Conference of Delegates of the Nigeria Union of Teachers at the International Conference Centre in Enugu, where he addressed delegates on his administration's record on education and workers' welfare. "We are really doing something different in Kebbi State with regard to growth of education and the welfare of teachers. We don't owe salaries, we don't owe pensions and we don't owe gratuity," he said. He added that his government had maintained an up-to-date payment status for workers' salaries, pensions, gratuities and death benefits across the state, local government areas and local government education authorities.
The governor said his administration had absorbed over 5,000 professional workers, including teachers, medical personnel and lawyers, into the permanent civil service to formally eliminate casualisation. He disclosed that approximately 6,144 civil servants, including teachers and health workers, were recruited to strengthen the workforce. He also increased the years of service for teachers from 35 to 40 and extended the same benefit to doctors, with other sectors to follow. "Teaching has done so many things for me. That's why I increased the years of service for teachers from 35 to 40. I have also increased the years of service for doctors; that of other sectors will be touched too," he said.
Describing primary education as the bedrock of societal advancement, Idris said he had consistently vowed to elevate the status of teachers, declaring that they should not be treated as second-class workers. He said budgetary allocations were scaled up to drive structural reforms, facilitating the construction, renovation or furnishing of over 2,000 schools, including the commissioning of thousands of pieces of student and teacher furniture. "We want to ensure our children remain in school. We no longer want out-of-school children in our communities and streets. That's why we have done the lot we are doing in Kebbi to stem it," he said. He recalled that some people had ganged up against him when he entered politics, asking how a teacher could govern a state. "But the workers ensured that I became the governor. I know I have not disappointed the workers and the people of Kebbi State," he said.
The governor's claims are consistent with a pattern of public statements he has made throughout his tenure. In February 2026, he told APC members in Birnin Kebbi that the state was not owing anyone pension, gratuity, death benefit or salary. In May 2026, he reiterated the claim while launching a digital training programme for civil servants, assuring workers that the government remained up to date in all payments. In July 2026, he approved the release of N2.11 billion for the payment of gratuities and death benefits to 772 beneficiaries, covering state and contract staff, retirees from the Local Government Service and Local Government Education Authorities, and the next of kin of deceased public servants. In August 2026, he said the state could pay salaries and pensions for five consecutive months without waiting for allocations from the Federation Account, attributing the capacity to prudent financial management and discipline. The state has also disclosed that over N10 billion has been paid as gratuities to retirees, alongside regular salary payments and the clearance of inherited arrears.
The political context of Idris's declaration is significant. The 2027 general elections are less than four months away, and Kebbi State, like other states in the North-West, will be a key battleground. President Bola Tinubu is seeking a second term on the All Progressives Congress platform, while former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress, former Anambra Governor Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde of the Allied Peoples Movement are among the major challengers. Idris, who is a former National President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers and a former Deputy National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, has built his political identity around workers' welfare, and his appearance at the NUT conference was as much a homecoming as it was a policy address. His message to the delegates was clear: Kebbi has kept faith with its workers, and the record speaks for itself.
However, the governor's claims are not universally accepted. Critics have questioned whether the state's fiscal position is as strong as he portrays, particularly given the broader economic pressures facing Nigerian states, including rising wage bills following the implementation of the new national minimum wage. Kebbi was among the first states to implement the N75,000 minimum wage, a move that increased recurrent expenditure and placed additional strain on state finances. The governor has nonetheless insisted that the state remains current on all obligations, a claim that, if accurate, places Kebbi among a minority of states that can genuinely claim to owe no arrears.
For the teachers gathered in Enugu, Idris's address was a reminder of the professional roots he shares with them and the possibilities that teaching can unlock. His message that no teacher, worker or pensioner in Kebbi is owed any salary arrears or pension resonated with an audience that has long complained of neglect by successive governments. Whether the record he described is sustained through the remainder of his tenure, and whether it becomes a model for other states, will depend on the fiscal discipline and political will that he cited as its foundation. As he put it, "We are maintaining an up-to-date payment status for workers' salaries, pensions, gratuities and death benefits across state, local government levels and local government education authorities."
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