The Kogi State Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Onuh Edoka has warned that the union would not defend the interest of government workers who have antecedents of perpetrating fraud in the state civil service.
This was disclosed recently when the NLC boss moved round to monitor the ongoing screening exercise in Western Senatorial District.
While affirming that the organized Labour Union is fully in support of the ongoing screening exercise, he said the NLC has no moral platform to shield workers who padded wage bills, keep ghost workers on pay rolls or create non-existing institutions to siphon public funds.
He unequivocally pointed out that any member of staff of either local or state government that is exposed by the Bank verification Number (BVN) as having collected salaries in two places would bear the brunt of his or her action.
He further warned that those who engaged in all forms of illegality for personal enrichment have cause to be afraid of their action, as the NLC’s does not provide safe haven for sleaze.
He however assured that no law-abiding and genuine worker would be victimized or subjected to unjust treatment, as the NLC, he said, exists to protect such workers.
He however appealed to the state government to avoid subjecting workers to the pain of waiting till the end of the screening exercise before they get paid because there are indications that the exercise may last longer than anticipated.
Faced with the arrears of salaries for months, he said the workers at state and local government levels, as well as pensioners had suffered for too long, stressing that effort should be made to mitigate the suffering.
Since vouchers were prepared in various MDAs, he said it would be more appropriate to be paying the salaries as the screening goes on, stressing that the Acting Heads of MDAs could be made to take responsibility for their action subsequently.
He expressed satisfaction with the method and conduct of the screening so far. He however added that the exercise may go beyond the period scheduled for it in view of the enormity of the challenges.
It would be recalled that the Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello recently set up a staff screening committee consisting 31 members to verify the authenticity of the staff on the payrolls of state and local government councils. The state council of NLC has eleven members on the Committee.
Credit: Graphic
