BY Abdallah el-Kurebe
Sokoto—Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State has assured of his administration’s commitment to pay the N18,000 new minimum wage to workers in the state.

He stated this  when he visited Wamakko Local Government Area to commission as well as inspect projects executed by his administration in the area.

”Already, the office of the state Head of Service has finished computing the monthly wage bill of the state civil servants and is currently computing the wage bill of workers in the 23 local government areas of the state for the take-off of the new minimum wage,” the Governor said.

Although Wamakko did not state when payment would begin, he stressed that “the gesture is with a view to ensuring the commencement of payment of the new minimum wage to both state and local government workers so as to ensure justice to the workers in the state.”

In a related development, the Wamakko said that his administration would commit the yet to be accessed N2.1billion- 2008/2009 Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC intervention fund,  to the renovation of dilapidated school structures across  the state, adding that,

“This administration reached the decision as a way to salvage aging school structures from decay and collapse.”

He then charged the state Ministry of Education to reactivate sporting facilities in primary and junior secondary schools across the state to ensure the physical fitness of students.

Earlier, the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB Chairman, Alhaji Umaru Tambawal said that the state government spent N1,653,528,689 in the construction of additional school structures in the state.

Tambawal also said the N2.1 billion to be spent this year would cover renovation of dilapidated structures in 345 schools, re-training of 5,000 teachers, supply of instructional materials as well as the construction of 73 modern toilets in some schools across the state.