President laments alarming rate of unpaid salaries

Fuad Lawal 04:35 - 30 July 2015

President Muhammadu Buhari

The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has decried the alarming rate at which teachers go unpaid for many months in several states in the country.

This was made known in a statement made available to journalists by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

The President, according to Garba Shehu, raised the concern after receiving a briefing from the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, MacJohn Nwaobiala.

The statement also said the President urged the three tiers of government to be more mindful of their responsibilities to pay teachers their salaries on time.

Buhari said the worst harm state governments could cause their citizens was to deny them good education.

“It then means that their citizens will be denied a chance to compete with others at the centre. Socially, it is very, very bad, if not irresponsible,” the President said.

Nwaobiala was said to have briefed the President on the current activities of the Ministry of Education as well as its challenges, including inadequate funding and insecurity in some parts of the country.