Civil servants in Jigawa State have refused to return to work after the Christmas holidays declared by the Federal Government.
Reporters visited the State Secretariat and offices of other government agencies and observed that most civil servants didn’t report back to work as of Wednesday.
The Federal Government declared Monday and Tuesday as work-free days to celebrate Christmas.
However, it was observed that even the busy Kiyawa Road was deserted compared to normal working days.
Some restaurants are not operating, while others are providing half services.
Khadija, a restaurant owner, said the situation is normal whenever there is a mid-week break.
According to her, the restaurant usually operates at half capacity during such periods because most civil servants have traveled and may not return until the following week.
Malam Musa, a civil servant, mentioned that when public holidays fall in the middle of the week, the entire week is paralyzed because most civil servants may not return until the following week.
“The transport fare is costly, and even upon resuming, you may not find anything to do.
“People are suffering, and the government still does nothing to ease the pain people are going through; no minimum wage, no wage award, no palliative,” the civil servant added.
