Kogi no longer owing salaries, pensions- Yahaya Bello

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state has faulted the widely held view that his administration is owning civil servants and pensioners in the state, declaring that he is up till date in payments.


Bello explained that he had cleared all outstanding salaries and pensioners claims owed workers in the state before the 28th of August 2019 in spite the fact that he inherited four months salaries indebtedness from his predecessor Idris Wada in 2016.


Speaking in Abuja, Thursday, at the end of a reconciliatory meeting held at the National Secretariat of the All progressive congress (APC) between his rivals at the recently held governorship primaries and the Comrade Adams Oshiohmole led National Working committee (NWC) of the party.


Bello said he had performed creditably well in the past three and half years on the saddle particularly on ensuring the protection of lives and properties for the citizenry in the state adding he was able to offset the salaries owed workers after he received the sum of N30.8 billion as bail out fund from President Muhammadu Buhari. 


Kogi governor revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari would soon be invited to commission projects spread across the state, even as he promised to ensure a level playing field for his rivals in the opposition parties in the November 16 governorship poll in Kogi state.

When asked to respond to the allegation that he (Bello) sponsored the attack on the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary election in the state, Bello said he was not a member of PDP.


“I’m not a member of PDP. We gave a level-playing field to PDP and other political parties to carry out their activities freely within the State. They moved round the nooks and crannies, all the aspirants in other political parties moved round the nooks and crannies of Kogi State and we provided security for them and we ensured that they were secured and safe.


“In fact, let me tell you, my colleague, the governor of Adamawa State, His Excellency Adamu Ahmadu Fintiri, who was the chairman of their primaries committee, before he came to Kogi state, he contacted me that he was coming to conduct the election, I provided his accommodation, his feeding and some other logistics within the state to ensure that they had hitch free election exercise.


“I conducted the security people round the Stadium and went round the stadium and my security chiefs in Kogi State were very excellent and up and doing as far as Kogi state is concerned.


“We, on our own part, when we conducted our own primaries on 29th of August, we had a larger number of delegate than the PDP. I was the first person to go to the Stadium around 9 O’clock. As early as 10am, we started our exercises and finished everything before 10pm and left the stadium, that is how efficient we are.


On the reconciliation with other defeated governorship aspirants, Bello said: “Today, the leadership of the party called us to review and evaluate what happened exactly on the 29 August, regarding our primaries that was transparently conducted. In order that we go into election as one family and today I am happy that all us of that are here today before the Chairman and NWC Members have resolved our differences.


“All my brothers and sisters have agreed to queue behind me and help me in the forthcoming election to make sure that APC becomes victorious in Kogi State and continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to our people. 


“I want express appreciation to my brothers and sisters. Very many of them already have sent me text message of congratulation and are willing to join hands with me to execute the election smoothly. 


“I want to assure you that Kogi state is the second safest state as far as Nigeria is concerned and we ensure that we become the first safest state in Nigeria and I have been assuring every participant election that is from other political party that we going to provide a level playing ground to everybody so that nothing happen to anybody in the course of the election.


“As regard the issue of news making the round that Kogi state is owing salaries, I want to categorical state that, my two predecessors inherited salary arrears. It is a problem I inherited when I assumed office but I want to announce to you today that Kogi is not owing any worker salary at all. 
“We have been able to clear all workers salary and we are up to date. As a matter of fact, the last primary election that was held on August 29, we paid the salaries of August. That is to tell you that we are up to date as far as salary is concerned.


“The issue of us owning up to 38 months before we cleared it was all false and lies. We did owe up to that, what we were owing at that time was between four to five months. As I speak with you now, Mr. President graciously approved bailout of N 30.8 billion. When the money was approved, our National Chairman seated here help me to facilitate the release and the fund has been fully applied and salaries are cleared including pension arrears. We are not owing any salary.


“In terms of performances, people are saying we have not performing in Kogi state. That has been their wish that we should not perform. Investigative journalists visited Kogi state and they went to all the nooks and crannies of the state taking their phones and making their notes themselves and they do their reports. 


“Mr. President will in September or October be visiting Kogi State to commission projects that have been concluded and as we move round during our campaign, we will be commissioning projects and you are going to see exactly what we have inherited and where we have been to in terms of infrastructure development, security, social safety nets. I want to believe that I have performed, Kogi is better off than we inherited it.”


Also speaking, National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole said the parley was aimed at resolving any form of animosity that arose between Bello and the aspirants at the primaries adding that Bello would perform better if elected at the poll since he had acquired the requisite experience in governance in the last three years on the saddle in Kogi state.


He noted: “I think the good thing is that I thank each and anyone of them in spite of whatever they have to say recognizing the fact that they have to work together to win the next governorship election in Kogi state so that Gov. Yahaya Bello having governed the state for years,  it doesn’t need to do a new apprenticeship.  


“He will build on experience gained,  build on where we have done well and improve on where we probably have not so that overall after eight years,  we will be able to look back,  we point out the change between when he came in and when he left. The conversation also enables us to amplify the fact that Gov Bello met huge debt burden.  Debts not only in terms of Salary arrears not paid by predecessor but debt of contract allegedly awarded committed some paid for job not done and we said he should try to get some of those projects completed.”


Among those in attendance were Mustapha and Mohammed, sons of the late former Governor of Kogi state , Prince Abubakar Audu, his brother Yahaya Audu, Yakubu Mohammed , Sani Lulu, and Babatunde Irukera. However the former Chief of Naval staff, Rear Admiral Jibrin Usman who was disqualified in controversial circumstances conspicuously absent at the parley.

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