By HABIBU HARISU

Gov. Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto State has directed local government Chairmen and Local Government Education Authority officials who tampered with the N30,000 Sallah gifts to return the money.

This is contained in a statement issued by Malam Abubakar Bawa, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Aliyu on Sunday.

“The money was given to the workers in the state and some unscrupulous staff diverted the funds and they have been directed to return it immediately or face serious consequences.

“I wonder how somebody would deny our workers the stipends we gave them in order to make them financially stable during the Sallah festive season.

“Those who diverted those funds must return them immediately or else we will take serious punitive measures against them.

“We will ensure that the culprits reap what they sowed to serve as a deterrent to others,” he warned.

Meanwhile, the state government has declared Monday as a public holiday in recognition of the Islamic New Year of Hijrah calendar.

Bawa announced that Monday would be observed as a public holiday throughout the state to enable people of the state to celebrate the new Islamic year 1446AH.

He further stressed the need for the Muslim Ummah to use the new Islamic calendar for a sober reflection and to carry out a self assessment to see where they have gone wrong with a view to making corrections in this new year. (NAN)