PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED OUT BY COMRADE ABDULLAHI MUHAMMAD TANKO ON A STATEMENT MADE BY THE HOUNARABLE COMMSSIONER MINISTRY OF EDUCATION BAUCHI STATE ALHAJI IBRAHIM MUHAMMAD AMINU ON PAGE 14 OF THE DAILY TRUST NEWSPAPER OF 27TH JUNE, 2014. My attention has been drawn to a statement ascribed to the Honourable Commissioner, Ministry of Educatiion Bauchi state, Alh. Ibarahim Muhammad Aminu when contacted by the reporter of the Daily Trust Newspaper on the protest staged by the Secondary School Teachers against my compulsory retirement, which he expressed knowledge of the protest and further asserted that “… that Tanko was retired by the government and was paid one month salary in lieu of notice and other entitlements which he collected” as published on page 14 of daily trust news paper of 27th June, 2014. It is in view of the above statement and the number of phone calls I have been receiving from concern citizens and colleagues and one on one enquiries on the matter that people want to know, if it is true that, I was paid all my compulsory retirement benefits as claimed by the commissioner. I found it very necessary to issue out the following statements: 1. To the best of my knowledge, what was given to me were cheques of my February and March 2013 Salaries which is even the major bond of contention between I and the state government, that even led to the so -called compulsory retirement, because I led 2337 teachers to file a case against the state government for refusing to pay us the said salaries. Attached to the purported compulsory retirement letter were also the cheques of the recently paid May salary and that of the Month of June 2014 salary which the commissioner of education claimed to be one month salary given to me in lieu of notice of the purported compulsory retirement which I collected. 2. To best of my knowledge, the benefits of a retiree is not limited to what was given to me, that the commissioner claimed that I was given and I collected all my retirement entitlements. 3. By his statement the commissioner is either lacking knowledge of the retiree’s benefits or he was economical with the truth of the matter or at most using that statement as a political propaganda. 4. if the commissioner made the said statement for either of the three reasons above, it is a slap on the face of his office, the state government and the entire well meaning citizens of the state and the nation at large . And if this happened in countries where responsibility and personality matters, the commissioner would have resigned his position as the commissioner of education for saying what is apparently not true particularly against somebody working under him. 5.To the concern citizens that have been expressing their concerns and worries on the actions of the government against me in particular and unionism in general, they should know that, I was not paid the purported compulsory retirement entitlements as claimed by the commissioner in that report. As a well meaning citizen and a law abiding individual, my reactions on this matter will always be in accordance with the law, so also I plead with my union members, any individual or group that sympathize with the truth and my personality, to use lawful actions in expressing their concern for me in particular and humanity at large. 6. If what I have mentioned above is not true, I challenge the state commissioner of education Alh. Ibrahim Muhammad Aminu to, publically prove his earlier allegations against me to the press and the entire citizens of Bauchi State and Nigeria at large. 7. For the benefit of objective journalism, to the gentlemen of the press, attached here are the photocopies of the purported compulsory retirement letters and the cheques for the payment of my February and March 2013,salaries ( that is already before the court), that of May 2014 salary that was recently paid and June 2014 salary as the so called one month salary in lieu of notice which I refused to cash hence the matter is still pending in court for your perusal, assessment and fair play. Yours in struggles, Comrade Abdulahi Muhammad Tanko. Chairman ASUSS, Bauchi State Chapter.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 09:40:44 +0000