Resolve Kogi salary crisis now

Chairman/CEO Mohammed Idris, FNIPR Chief Operating Officer Salisu Umar General Manager Ajibola Oyetubo (Finance) Deputy General Manager Thomas I.
Joseph (Administration) Editor-in-Chief Zainab Suleiman Okino Managing Editor Clement Oluwole Editor Abdulrahman A.
Abdulrauf General Editor Chamba Simeh Editor, Southern Operations Jerry Uwah The recent reasons advanced by the Kogi State Government to the effect that huge loan servicing is responsible for its inability to pay the salaries of its workers regularly is as untenable as it is insensitive, irresponsible and inhumane.
The reason falls on all fours as it smacks of a government that is yet to understand or even appreciate the essence of governance, particularly democratic governance, which is simply defined as government of the people, for the people and by the people.
It is not only an irresponsible act not to pay workers but also evil as it is an obvious infraction on the holy writs.
The Kogi state Director-General, Media and Publicity, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja last week that the loans were taken by the two previous administrations for projects that did not add value to the state.
“Sometimes, we repay between N400 million and N500 million monthly as loans that add no value to the state.
These loans were taken by the last two administrations and some of them were invested on projects that were never completed.
“When you go out, you will see Kogi Hotels, billions of naira was collected for that project and it was not completed, and it is not adding any value to the state.
Also, the Kogi House in Abuja has gulped billions of naira, yet, it is not completed, not adding any value to the state,’’ he said.
The director general said the previous administrations collected N200 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) development, which was not used for the purpose intended.
According to him, rather than using the money for SMEs development, some people just shared the money.
“There is no record of anybody given loan and now we are repaying.
So all of these have taken their toll on the resources and finances of the state,” he said.
He noted that despite the poor resources accruing to the state, the government still strives to pay workers’ salaries.
“We cannot shy away from the fact that the revenue coming to the state now has dwindled due to the loans we are repaying.
It is increasingly difficult to muster enough revenue to pay salaries regularly.
As I speak with you, we are still owing March and April salaries”, Fanwo said.
He said despite the dwindling revenue of the state, the government will remain committed in the payment of salaries even if not as when due.
“When you do a comparative analysis of wages in the North-central geo-political zone, Kogi pays the highest and despite that, we have been very faithful”, Fanwo said.
He denied allegations that workers were being owed 24 months’ salary, adding that those peddling the falsehood were the people that benefited from the rot in the state in the past.
Blueprint observes that since the providential emergence of Alhaji Yahaya Bello as governor of Kogi state on January 27, 2016 under controversial circumstances, the non-payment of salaries and pensions of the state workforce has been a thorny issue.
The state government keeps bandying reasons ranging from verification of workers to fish out “ghosts”, paucity of funds, overbloated civil service to huge debt burden for its failure to pay workers.
However, in an apparent show of compassion owing to serial deaths of its workers including a director in the State Civil Service Mr Edward Soje who committed suicide last year, the governor promised “to clear all salary arrears of civil servants and the pension arrears of retirees before the end of 2017”.
Regrettable, rather than fulfill his promise, about five months after its lapse, Governor Yahaya Bello is tendering the pedestrian excuse of huge debt repayment.
It is apposite to draw the attention of the Kogi helmsman that the biggest and most thriving economies in the world are the heaviest debtors, yet they have not shirked their responsibility of paying workers regularly.
We, therefore, urge the governor to immediately resolve the salary crisis in his state which has lingered for too long despite the three tranches of bailout funds from the federal government.
Salaries must be a first line charge in order to avoid hiccups or outright abdication.
Yahaya Bello should be worried when President Muhammadu Buhari said, “How can anyone go to bed and sleep soundly when workers have not been paid their salaries for months.
I actually wonder how the workers feed their families, pay their rents and even pay school fees for their children”.

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