By Terna Chikpa
Taraba State Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, has directed a 50 per cent reduction in the monthly salaries of members of the Operation Keep Taraba Clean initiative (street sweepers) to accommodate newly employed civil servants.
The Chairman of the Taraba State Environmental and Sanitation Agency, Hon. Illiya Kefas, disclosed the development to journalists in Jalingo.
PERISCOPE NIGERIA reports that the street sweepers were engaged by the state government in 2023 with a monthly take-home pay of ₦20,000. In March 2024, they were asked to either accept a ₦5,000 reduction in their salaries or leave the job.
The newspaper also reports that the sweepers received ₦10,000 in May 2026, instead of the previously renegotiated ₦15,000.
When contacted for clarification, the chairman of the agency confirmed the development.
According to Hon. Illiya Kefas, the decision was based on a directive from Governor Agbu Kefas to accommodate the large number of newly employed civil servants in both the state and local government services.
“Yes, we did not pay the sweepers ₦15,000 this month; we paid them ₦10,000 each,” Hon. Kefas confirmed.
He explained that the decision became necessary because of the large number of newly employed civil servants at both the state and local government levels, coupled with the limited resources received from the Federation Account Allocation.
A few hours later, Hon. Illiya Kefas engaged in a text message conversation with journalists, where he again confirmed the salary reduction and advised that anyone uncomfortable with the decision should leave the job.
The text messages read in part:
“I have the right to ask my people to work at ₦10,000. Anyone interested will work, and if you are not, you can go your way.
“Or if we offer the work as contracts, will someone tell the contractor what to do?”
Another message read:
“We have 16 local government coordinators, including Ngada and Yantu. We pay some ₦200,000, while the least among them earns ₦100,000. We also have a monitoring team.
“We have supervisors; the least we pay them is ₦50,000 per person, and we have 10 of them. We have more than 100 casual staff across the 16 local governments just for feeding. We spend more than ₦5 million on the boys; everybody knows that.
“Those guys clearing the roadsides, we also have 80 to 90 team leaders. Each of them collects ₦10,000 per day as allowances. Tarabans are supposed to thank me for the work, not call me names.
“There is nothing wrong with slashing their salaries. Do you journalists ask us how we manage the agency?
“How are we maintaining the waste evacuation vehicles and handling what is going on at the roadblocks? How do we make Jalingo what it is today? How do I manage my staff in the office, my vehicles, and myself? What are you people calling allegations?”
PERISCOPE NIGERIA reports that with the new directive by Governor Agbu Kefas, the monthly take-home pay of the street sweepers is likely to stand at ₦7,500, down from the earlier renegotiated ₦15,000.
