Journalists in the press crew of the Kano state Government House are unhappy over alleged withholding of their monthly allowances for more than three months.
Some of the journalists who spoke to Daily News 24 said the decision to stop the payments since the inception of the Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf administration has drastically affected the quality of their job.
They complained that with the current economic hardship being experienced in the country, they find it difficult to commute to the government house to do their jobs as transportation cost is always rising.
One of them who pleaded for anonymity for fear of repercussions, explained that the government allowances are vital to their welfare because it supports the usually insufficient or delayed salaries they receive from their respective media organizations.
“The N20,000 incentive we receive monthly from the government is important to our work. We are pleading with the governor to please consider our plight especially in these difficult times,” he said.
Inflated number of journalists
Another journalist said they had approached a senior government house official on the issue, who had promised to look into it.
However, when the official asked the journalists to submit the list of their members, they decided to inflate the number of journalists in the crew from 27 to over 40.
“This is why the official decided to hold-on with the payment process until a thorough verification of the crew members is carried out,” the reporter explained.
“Many people who are not reporting at the government house were added to the list and this is causing problems,” he added.
However, efforts to get the reaction of the Kano government was not successful as the Chief Press Secretary (CPS), to the governor, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa did not answer phone calls made to him.
Nonetheless, a source said the the government has looked into the issue and is planning to pay a two months allowances but only after the list of members has been properly vetted.
