The National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) is facing a major crisis as over 700 staff members have not been paid their salaries for 17 months.
NBAIS is a federal government agency under the Ministry of Education that is responsible for conducting examinations and issuing certificates for Arabic and Islamic studies in Nigeria. The board has over 2,000 staff members across the country, but only about 30 per cent of them have been receiving their salaries regularly.
The rest of the staff members have been left in the dark, wondering why they have not been paid and when they will be paid. They have fulfilled all the requirements for salary payment, including capturing their data on the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS), which is supposed to ensure transparency and accountability in the public sector payroll.
However, their efforts have been in vain, as they have not received any explanation or assurance from the board or the government. They have also alleged that some staff members were selectively paid based on favoritism or nepotism.
The affected workers have appealed to the relevant authorities, including the president, the minister of education, and the national assembly, to intervene and save them from their predicament. They have also solicited the help of the media to expose their plight and demand justice.
Speaking to Daily Trust, one of the affected workers, Muhammad Suleiman, who is also the chairman of the group, said: “We have been employed since January 2021 by NBAIS and we were captured on IPPIS in December 2021. But since then, only a few people have been paid their salaries, while the rest of us have been left hanging with 17 months of arrears.
“This has caused us untold hardship and damage. We lost our previous jobs when we joined NBAIS, thinking it was a better opportunity. But now we are worse off than before. We can’t afford to feed our families, pay our bills, or meet our obligations.
“We have tried to get answers from the board, but they keep giving us excuses or false promises. They asked us to submit our appointment letters and IPPIS slips for payment in August 2021, but nothing happened. They blamed the budget office for not releasing funds, but we found out that there was an approval letter from the president and the ministry of education for our recruitment.
“We don’t understand why some people were paid and others were not. We don’t know who is behind this injustice and discrimination. We are appealing to the press to investigate this matter and help us get our salaries and arrears. We believe that this is a government that cares for the ordinary man and will not allow us to suffer like this.”
The NBAIS Information Officer, Muhammad Y. Sambo, confirmed the salary arrears, but said the board has no reason to withhold any staff salary if the government releases it. He said the problem is with the budget office.
The budget office has not yet commented on the matter.
The salary arrears crisis at the NBAIS is a major setback for the government’s efforts to improve the welfare of its employees. It is also a blow to the morale of the staff members, who are working hard to provide essential services to the public.
The government and the NBAIS must take immediate steps to resolve the salary arrears crisis and ensure that the staff members are paid their salaries. This is the least they can do for the hard-working staff members who are dedicated to their jobs.
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