By Shuaibu Usman
A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nasarawa State, Suleiman Musa Nagogo, has advocated for equity and justice, noting that rotational leadership is to be sustained for equitable representation.
Nagogo, who is the Director-General of the Nasarawa State Bureau for Pension Administration, said though it is not a constitutional matter, however to promote political belongingness and mutual harmony.
He was speaking during an exclusive interview with Nasarawa Newsline in Lafia, calling on candidates to work hard to secure their people’s confidence.
Nagogo said as a critical stakeholder of the APC, the successor of Governor Abdullahi Sule should be a person “who is not bereft of humility, integrity, intellect, respect, accessibility and open-mindedness”.
He added that bringing in candidates that are one-sided, arrogant and inaccessible would portend great danger to the state, commending Governor Sule for being a people and development-oriented leader.
According to him, leadership is transient, asking aspirants who may not make it to be patient and support others to bring about sustainable development.
Commenting on the social media agitation on the rumored senatorial ambition of Governor Sule, Nagogo said there’s no compulsion in leadership, noting that the choice to contest remains that of the Governor as he pledged his total support if the Governor decides to accept the people’s call.
The Pension Bureau boss urged Nasarawa people to join the APC to provide sustainable respite to the state beyond 2027.
Speaking on the new minimum wage and pension in the state, he disclosed that pensioners will be fully taken care of in the decision of the Nasarawa State Government as far as the new minimum wage is concerned.
The new minimum wage has raised eyebrows in some states of the federation leading to industrial action by civil servants.
Governor Abdullahi Sule, during a recent interview, said the wage issue would be resolved with the organised labour in the state soon, noting that the bone of contention is about consequential adjustment not specifically the minimum wage of 70,500 which had been agreed upon between representatives of labour and the state government.
Nagogo said the Bureau is only waiting for instruction to offer computation on how much will be required to adjust the current monthly pension and gratuities of pensioners.
He added that gratuities of retirees which have been computed but not paid will be looked into to make reasonable adjustments in conformity with current reality.
When asked about how to better the lots of pensioners in the state, Nagogo said Governor Sule is the messiah of pensioners “he has always stood by them in all conditions”, advising that retirees should maintain their pay as one-time civil servants.
He reiterated the readiness of the Bureau to ensure better welfare of pensioners as soon as the minimum wage comes into effect.