Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has slashed the salaries of political office holders in the state by 50 per cent due to dwindling resources caused by COVID-19 lockdown.

Abba Anwar, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, said this in a statement in Kano on Sunday.

Mr Anwar said the action was due to shortfall in the revenue accruing to the state following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

He said the decision affected the governor, deputy governor and all public office holders in the state.

“Due to shortfall in the federation account and collapse in the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) because of COVID-19 challenges, all political office holders in Kano State are to receive half salaries with effect from May.

“There is also a serious setback in the IGR, due to COVID-19 pandemic challenges. Whereas almost all companies in the state are no longer in operation due to lockdown.

“Other areas where the state gets revenue are no longer operational. This also is another reason for slashing the salaries,” he said.‎

Mr Ganduje said that the salary cut would also affect local government chairmen, their deputies, councillors, advisers and other functionaries.

(NAN)