Nasarawa State Governor has introduced a development levy to be deducted from all salary earners, including civil servants as Local Government resort to paying salaries in percentages.
Speaking on behalf of his counterparts, Chairman of Lafia Local Government, Suleiman Wambei, said that they resorted to paying salary in percentages, as they could no longer continue with bank overdrafts to augment the dwindling Federal Allocation.
Governor Tanko Al-Makura, however, made the revelation while receiving the 20-Man Transition Appraisal Committee report on Saturday at the Government House in Lafia, the Nasarawa State’s capital, north-central Nigeria.
The report identified high wage bill of the state as one of the major challenges facing Local Government administration in the state.
It also pointed out insecurity as another foremost challenge which the Governor quickly moved to address by introducing the development levy.
According to Governor Al-Makura, the tax was to save funds for development of the state and curb borrowing to augment Local Government staff and civil servant salaries who constitute about 1% of the state population.
