Salaries of Council Members and administrative staff is set to increase, Minister of Cities, Local Government and Public Works Adam Shareef Umar has said.
The Minister said that the Pay Commission is working to raise the rank of councils from four to three and that positive changes in the salaries will come about as a result.
“We have received information that the Pay Commission has done the necessary work and is on the verge of presenting a proposal,” Umar said.
The change will include increases to salaries and allowances of council members as well as civil service employees working in those institutions, he said.
“We mean councils including council members and civil servants working there. In fact, the biggest assistance to council members in the councils is provided by the civil servants there…” the Minister said.
He will meet with the Pay Commission after the Eid al-Adha holidays to inquire on the progress made by the commission’s proposals, Umar said.
While significant efforts are said to have been undertaken in the administration’s efforts to strengthen decentralisation policy through empowering councils, the administration has received criticism for the higher wage bill — the public have been massively critical of the high salaries apportioned to the administration’s political appointees.
