The non-payment of salaries in Kogi state has generated a lot of controversies; blames are being freely traded, and the people who are suffering have become enemies of themselves.
These are certainly not the best of times for the people of Kogi State as suicides, kidnappings, armed robbery and assassinations have become the order of the day.
These ugly scenario is viewed as not unconnected with the salary issue in the state. When Yahaya Bello assumed office on January 19, 2016, he ordered that there should be a screening exercise to separate ghost workers from real workers.
Several months later, most of the civil servants are lamenting about non-payment of salaries now put at over eight months. The situation is so bad that some are crying out for help while some have committed suicide.
While the government insists the number of months are being exaggerated, members of the civil society get reports almost on a daily basis on how people are wallowing in abject poverty as a result of non-payment of salary.
Many people have gone cap in hand begging for assistance because they can barely feed. Speaking with The Next Edition, a civil servant who pleaded for anonymity for fear of being victimized said, “I have a wife with three children. As I speak with you my children can no longer go to school. One of them is seriously in need of treatment right now because she is ill. Where is the money to buy food not to talk of drugs?” Asked how much he is being owed, he said, “12 months.”
Equally worrisome is the fact that crime rate has increased in the state in recent times. Youths who are dependent on these civil servant parents and guardians to feed have now taken to crime to fend for themselves. Some have taken the most drastic measure: suicide.
An example is that of a director in the Kogi State civil service, Mr. Edward Soje, who committed suicide by hanging himself on a tree behind the Mammy market at the Maigumeri Barracks in Lokoja, the state capital. Many have alleged that he took his life because the government owed him 11 months’ salary.
According to reports, the 54-year-old civil servant took his life one week after his wife gave birth to a set of triplets in a hospital in Abuja. It was gathered that the couple had been childless for 17 years before then.
It was the distress experienced in the state that led the Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, to appeal to his colleagues in the Senate to come to the aid of indigenes of Kogi State who are finding it difficult to even feed.
Bags of rice were distributed by 40 members of the Senate. They donated 1,280 bags of rice two weeks ago to Kogi State civil servants whose salaries have not been paid for some time.
Melaye made this known at a press briefing. He said he was spearheading donation of relief materials to Kogi workers over unpaid salaries.
“Today, I drew attention of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the plight of civil servants in my native Kogi State following the recent disturbing reports of deaths by suicide and inability to pay medical bills by some workers.
“I’m happy to report to you that my colleagues in the Senate have immediately responded by donating bags of rice and other essential items to the workers in order to cushion the biting effects of non-payment of their salaries by the Kogi State Government,” Melaye said.
However, this donation did not go down well with some persons as they believed it was not done in good faith, but to make mockery of the Kogi State government.
Members of Kogi Youth Movement for Credible Leadership (KYMCL) on October 29 staged a protest against the donation of bags of rice by some Senators to Kogi State workers.
The protest, which was carried out along the Abuja-Lokoja highway caused gridlock on the road.
President of KYMCL, Mustapha Abdullahi in Lokoja, was of the view that Senator Melaye only led the senators to donate bags of rice just to taunt Governor Yahaya Bello.
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“This act is unpatriotic and a slap on the good image of our people and a mockery on the plight of Kogi State civil servants and civil servants across the country who are suffering the same fate due to dwindling economic situation nationwide.
“If this act by the Senators was done in good fate, the donation should have been done for civil servants nationwide,” Abdullahi said.
In response to the group’s statement, Jacop Audu, a youth leader in Kogi East said, “The group is only expressing the views of the Kogi State government and not of the youths. Everyone in the state welcomed that development. If it is embarrassing to the governor, then he should pay salaries as soon as possible.”
To make matters worse, a labour leader, Abulmumini Yakub was murdered in his home while observing his prayers. Until then, he had been at the forefront agitating for the payment of workers salary.
This development is a major setback for the on-going efforts to resolve the salary crisis rocking the state.
As a result, the organized labour last week Thursday had to suspend the negotiations between it and the state government. Yakubu was until his death the State Chairman of the non-Academic Staff Union Secondary Schools, Science and Technology Education Board. He was murdered alongside one Ibrahim Oatru at Okene in Kogi State.
The Next Edition gathered from a reliable source that Yakubu was shot in the head. The gunmen made sure that the victims were dead before the fled the scene.
The salary crisis, which has given the state bad publicity of recent, prompted the Kogi State government to publish 300 pages of names of civil servants that have been paid salaries in a national daily newspaper.
The Senior Special Adviser on Social Media to the Governor of Kogi State, Gbenga Olorunpomi, made it known on twitter.
He said, “If you wish to know the truth about Kogi State’s salary issues, pick up a copy of Leadership newspaper today. Publication began last Thursday.
“We are publishing 300 pages of advertisement to prove to the world finally how much we have been paying in wages and who are being paid since January 2016.
“It is 300 pages long as it covers 18 months. This will be a monthly exercise. You can also find the full list on the state government’s official website,” Olorunpomi said.
According to findings by The Next Edition, a page of black and white advert in a national daily newspaper costs N430, 500. If this is added up it amounts to over N100 million. This amount can settle the salaries of a large percentage of workers in the lower cadre of civil service. But was blindly expended on a publicity stunt.
This action has been heavily condemned by people within the state. “It is a waste of people’s resources,” opined Mr. Achimugu Iyaji, adding “what is he trying to prove by spending millions of the people’s money on newspaper adverts?”
Also, Ocheni Abubakar said, “This governor is a disgrace to the youth. To those who clamour for young people to govern, I am sure with Bello, they will realize that it is all about competence and integrity and not age.”
At the time of filing this report, efforts to reach Kingsley Fanwo, the Chief Press Secretary failed. Phone calls were also put to Governor Bello’s Chief of Staff, Edward Onoja, to get his reaction, but he did not respond. He also failed to reply messages sent to his phone.
