Nigeria’s State Governors have no reason not to pay their workers and should apologise to civil servants for owing them, an entrepreneur has said.

“You have no reasons not to pay outstanding salaries with apologies to civil servants,” The Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Dialogue Computers, Alhaji Mahdi Shehu, said on Thursday in Kaduna.

He spoke during the flag-off of a two weeks ICT/Entrepreneurship Workshop for 40 Practicing Journalists in Kaduna State sponsored by the Dialogue Computer Institute which held at the Institute’s hall in Kaduna.

According to him, “People have been returning public looted funds in billions, returned over N33 billion and others even more that N33 billion and blockage in the Nigerian Port Authority and others.”

“Why all the governors left with billions, some with N32 billion, others N30 billion as allocation,” he noted.

While noting that greed is Nigeria’s biggest problem and prayed for better days, he suggested that every state governor should seize the opportunity to clear all outstanding arrears.

Mahdi commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for fighting corruption and blocking leakages that have boosted the Federal Allocation for states.

In his key note address at the occasion, the NUJ Chairman, Kaduna State Council, Comrade Garba Muhammad, appreciated the Chairman/CEO, Dialogue group and other members of the management and staff of the institute for the sponsorship.

“This training is aimed at empowering members of the press to archive the most needed objectivity, qualitative and the most balance reporting, which will lead to peaceful coexistence and development of Kaduna State and Nigeria.

“ICT training will no doubt play a greater role, especially now that the traditional media is being threatened by the advent of new media, what is today known as online and other social platform,” Garba said.

He further said payment of salary by most organisations in the country particularly the private owned has become a problem, saying: “We are optimistic that this training on entrepreneurship will provide alternative means of livelihood for our members.”

He called on government and NGOs to emulate Dialogue Computers by sponsoring similar training as well as provide ICT working tools that will improve the capacity of journalists.

Garba thanked the Kaduna State government for sponsoring training of the journalists on ICT and modern reporting techniques as well as reporting health issues.

The Chairman thanked the management of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals for sustaining the annual Capacity Building Workshop for Energy Reporters, with this year's edition coming soon.

He then congratulate the new Director General of SMEDAN and appealed to him to implement the earlier arrangement of training our members on various entrepreneurial skills, adding, this kind of collaboration will in the long help our members to be self reliant and employers of labour.

•Photo shows Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari.

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