Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State has suspended the acting Head of Service and Permanent Secretary, Establishment, Salisu Mustapha, over shocking allegations of salary deductions and non-payment of civil servants’ wages. The immediate suspension, announced in a statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Sunusi Bature, has sent shockwaves through the state’s civil service.
Governor Yusuf wasted no time in taking decisive action, ordering Mustapha to step aside to pave the way for an unrestricted investigation. In his place, Malam Umar Muhammad Jalo, the Permanent Secretary of the Reform, Establishment, and Pension Administration (REPA), has been appointed as the new acting Head of Service until the investigation is concluded.
Determined to get to the bottom of the scandal, Governor Yusuf has reaffirmed his administration’s zero-tolerance policy on financial misconduct, vowing that anyone found guilty will face the full wrath of the law. To spearhead the probe, he has set up a powerful investigative committee led by Abdulkadir Abdussalam, which has been given just seven days to expose those behind the salary irregularities and present their findings.
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This latest shake-up follows Governor Yusuf’s earlier move to establish a seven-man task force to probe widespread reports of salary underpayments and non-payment affecting numerous civil servants in the state. The governor’s swift and firm response signals his commitment to ensuring accountability and justice for affected workers.
Salisu Mustapha’s suspension is particularly shocking as he was only recently appointed acting Head of Service after the substantive Head, Abdullahi Musa, was granted medical leave for treatment in India. The unfolding scandal raises pressing questions about financial mismanagement within Kano’s civil service, with many now awaiting the investigative committee’s findings that could expose deeper corruption within the system.
