One principle of life remains constant: truth cannot be hidden behind a fingernail. No matter the layers of propaganda or cosmetic narratives applied, the realities of human development — especially the welfare of civil servants — cannot be concealed. And in Kogi State today, that truth is pressing loudly against the walls of public conscience.
The facts on the ground reveal a disturbing legacy left behind by the immediate past administration: a legacy of hardship, financial uncertainty, and systemic neglect of the civil service, particularly at the local government level. As the numbers continue to surface, so too does the pain of workers who bore the brunt of mismanagement.
According to the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), between January 2024 and August 2025, Kogi State received a staggering ₦385.27 billion.
The State Government received ₦212.45 billion,
While LGAs received ₦172.82 billion.
These figures raise critical questions: How were these funds utilized? Why are workers still drowning in accumulated arrears? What justification can excuse years of systemic deprivation?
Across the state, the story is painfully consistent:
Schools in many communities lack teaching and non-teaching staff.
Workers placed on hold during screening exercises are still owed salaries spanning 10 months to several years.
Percentage salary balances withheld for eight years by the previous administration remain unpaid.
Allowances — annual leave bonuses and incremental rates — some due since 2012, have not been honoured.
Promotions were issued but not implemented.
Pensioners continue to cry out as they are owed months of pension arrears, while gratuities dating back to 2012 remain untouched.
This is not merely an administrative lapse — it is a moral failure.
Yet, amid this troubling landscape, the current administration has taken commendable steps, particularly in abolishing percentage salaries — a long-standing distortion in the civil service. Excellence cannot be hidden.
But excellence must be strengthened.
Kogi State now stands at a decisive crossroads. The present administration has the opportunity to write its name in gold by urgently addressing these outstanding injustices. Clearing backlog salaries, settling pension arrears, implementing promotions, resolving screening-related issues, and restoring dignity to the civil service must be treated as priority actions.
Governance is only as strong as the welfare of its workers. When civil servants suffer, the state suffers. When retirees weep, the moral core of leadership weakens.
Kogi cannot move forward while the shadows of the past continue to darken its present.
Your Excellency, history watches. How it records your tenure will depend on how swiftly and courageously you confront these lingering burdens.
You are blessed — may your leadership become a blessing to those who have waited too long for justice.
– Omakewu writes from UNN Nsuka.
