There was jubilation among civil servants in Kogi State yesterday as
Governor Yahaya Bello cleared all outstanding salary arrears in the
state.
A cross section of workers who spoke with journalists in
Lokoja, expressed joy over the timely “salary rainfall” in the state,
saying workers received all the five months salaries owed by the Kogi
State Government .
The governor had assured the royal fathers in
the state and all stakeholders that his administration will clear all
the salary arrears before the end of July.
Speaking with our
correspondent in Lokoja, a civil servant in the Bureau of Information
Service, Monisola Ayelabowo, said the governor has written his name in
gold by keeping to his promise.
According to her, the problem of salary arrears started during the Governor Idris Wada Administration.
She
said, “We have been battling with this problem since the last
administration. We were owed a few months salaries which the present
administration inherited. We are happy that the State Government has
been able to utilize the bailout judiciously to clear all the arrears.
“It
is now that I know that the Governor is preparing for a second term in
Office. We have seen all he has done in the areas of security, roads and
agriculture. But without our salaries, it would have been difficult for
us to support him.
But with what he has done now, he has recovered the confidence and trust of the civil servants in his government”.
Another
civil servant who introduced himself as Sanni said he works with the
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. He said the arrears had
made life miserable for the civil servants, saying the clearance of the
arrears has rekindled hope in the Yahaya Bello Administration.
“It
was not easy for us but now we can smile again. Now we know we have a
Governor that can keep to his promise. I will support him as long as our
salaries are paid regularly”, he said.
A labour leader in the
state who spoke to our reporter on condition of anonymity said the
governor has regained the hearts of the Kogi workers by paying the
arrears.
He stated: “If you look at his administration, he has
done very well in other areas such as education, healthcare, security,
agriculture and infrastructure. The only problem has been the issue of
salaries.
“We were carried along in the processes leading to the
release of the bailout and he kept assuring us that as soon as he gets
it, he will pay the salary arrears.
“When he got the bailout, he
invited us to brief us and also listen to our recommendations. We are
happy that he has cleared the arrears now and we shall be looking
forward to having salaries on regular basis”.
When contacted, the
state commissioner of Finance, Asiwaju Idris Ashiru, said the decision
to stick to agreement of paying the salary arrears was paramount to the
governor, adding that the move was more welfarist than political.
Ashiru
noted: “The governor was the main driver that ensured we were able to
get the bailout. And he directed that it must be applied to clear
arrears of salaries.
“The decision was in line with the
commitment of the Yahaya Bello Administration to ensure the welfare of
the workers. It was not due to political exigencies. We also thank Mr
President, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria for
the roles in ensuring that was achieved.
“Going forward , the
Governor has directed that we do everything possible to ensure we do not
owe our workers again. What we paid now was part of the liabilities
inherited from the past administration. But Government is a continuum
and we have done what is needful to retain the confidence of our
workforce in the administration. We also call on the civil servants to
work hard to justify the renewed relationship between them and the
Government”.
The Kogi state government paid a total of five months salary arrears to its civil servants.
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