Christmas: Gov. Bello Dashes Workers’ Hope

The Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has dashed the hope of workers in the state as he only paid half salary for the month of September leaving out August, October, November and December salaries. 

The Commissioner for Finance,  Hon. Asiwaju Asiru Idris who is in charge of Payment of Salary had promised that salary payment of 60% will be paid across board from August to December to enable workers celebrate Christmas and New Year. 

However, workers who received alert from their respective banks were shock that Bello only paid half salary for the month of September leaving out the months of August, October, November and December. 

THISDAY findings show that those who received bank alert so far were paid only 60 per cent of September while some people got 50%.

 Meanwhile,  Civil Servants in Kogi State have risen against the purchase and sewing of Christmas clothes for 20,000 children in the state by Governor Yahaya Bello describing the gesture as a ploy to jettison the payment of workers’ salaries. 

The workers, under the umbrella of Enlightened Workers’ Forum, EWF, appealed to Governor Bello to accord priorities to the payment of backlog of salary arrears owed them rather than distributing free Christmas gifts to Children. 

The EWF statement which was made available to journalists in Lokoja, on Friday reads in part: 

“We are still at a loss why the governor still owes core civil servants 20 months arrears, workers in institutions on subventions eleven months and local government workers and primary school teachers nine months. 

“Rather than making sincere and concrete efforts to pay our salaries, the governor is busy distributing Christmas clothes for 20,000 children.

“If he pays their parents regularly, it will be easy for them to buy clothes for their children. It is not the business of government to be buying Christmas clothes for children and this has turned Kogi State to a laughing stock.

“Offering to buy Christmas clothes for children when salaries are not paid is an attempt to play politics with the poverty of the people and turn the innocent kids to pawns on the political chess board.

“We reject this Christmas Clothes for Children project in its entirety; all we need are our salaries and allowances. Let the governor look for means to pay them so that we can have relief.

“A labourer deserves his wages and the sweat of his labour must not dry on his forehead. We have worked for this money, it is our right and not privilege, the governor must pay our salaries.

“We are also using this medium to call on the Federal Government to investigate how bailout funds, Paris Club refunds, Budget Support Funds sent to Kogi State were spent.

“We believe if these monies are deployed to payment of workers, all these arrears would have been offset by now.”

In a swift reaction on the payment of half salary for the September alone,  the Commissioner for Finance, Hon. Asiwaju Asiru Idris in a statement issued on Friday said “In line with the New direction administration’s commitment to workers welfare and the sincere promise by our amiable Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello to pay civil servant in the state before Xmas celebration, I wish to notify that payment has started in earnest.

“With deep remorse, we sincerely apologise for the delay and its attendant consequences.

“Regrettably, we are only able to pay 60% salary across board. It is the sincere hope of government that  through our aggressive drive to increase internally generated revenue, the fortunes of civil servants and all citizens will improve.

“Accept our responsive and esteemed regards always.”