The agonising circumstances revolving around the lingering salary issues in Kogi State has continued unabated. A situation that has defied every entreaty and exposed the state workers’ conditions to an aggressive supplication that calls for “God’s intervention”.
A chronic case similar to that of a biblical woman with the issues of blood; Where every moment of her life became twisted and full of agonies, all meaningful solution failed her, until the presence of Jesus that caused her predicament to be ameliorated completely.
Kogi state workers need the presence of Jesus and their PVC in 2019 for their problems to be solve completely.
It’s a known fact that governor Bello regime has neglected the civil servants in the state, with no attention to their welfare. A glaring circumstance that has caused them to remain absolutely poor and live below poverty line irrespective of their qualifications and level in their various ministries.
Infrastructural development would become non-existence in the midst of uncontrollable poverty. The irrational head of government neglects the supreme welfare of his people and give priority attention to projects that doesn’t have significant impacts on the lives of his people.
Like the case of Kogi State where workers and pensioners suffered the consequences of bad governmental decision. Money meant for the payment of salary were misused for the sponsoring of other state’s election and acquisition of personal properties by the governor even when the helpless workers forbear with the government who does not have regard to their welfare.
This is exactly the unbearable case in Kogi state, where workers and pensioners have become beggars.
In Kogi state today, there are different categories of workers with erratic payment structures, that has exposed their lives to a litany of woes.
1. 30% Salary Earners:- ridiculously, at a time that the entire Nigerians are clamoring for salary increase, Kogi state government turned a deaf ear and continue to unleashed her wickedness on the civil servants, even with all the great vociferation and outcry of the people, governor Bello still embarked on 30% payment of unknown month salary. These depressed categories of workers are the cleared staff that suppose to be enjoying their full salary. They have not being paid for consolidated period of six (6) months. In these categories a level 14 officers were paid N35,000 and level 7 officers were paid N6.800 respectively as their take home monthly salary.
This unusual action by the cruel government of Bello has resulted to egregious abuse of the fundamental human right of the state workers and an act of dehumanisation.
2. The Semi Ghost Workers:- These categories of workers were those whose names has been omitted from the payroll for some little issues that had since be resolved. They have being cleared yet they have not received any salary since the inception of this ungodly kleptocracy regime. Even when the state government have agreed to pay them 25% of their salary, yet no salary have been paid to them. They now live a piteous life.
3. The Ghost Workers:- These are the categories of workers that Bello and his agents deliberately screened them out of the state payroll because of their connection or relationship with the past administrations and those who he perceived as his political enemies. These set of people are permanently deleted from the payroll, he called them ghost workers.
It’s now clear that governor Bello leadership style has brought both stiff and severe hardship that left a permanent stain in the history of Kogi State.
Frankly speaking, Bello has been a disappointment to the youths and the state at large due to his unfavorable and tyrannical leadership style that allowed bitterness to take hold of his mind.
It’s unfortunate that we found ourselves in this unbearable condition.
– Itodo Dennis
Coordinator, VTP
