Dissatisfied with the inability of Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, to pay salaries of workers in the state, a group under the aegis of “Coalition For Good Governance” has warned the Federal Government against releasing the bailout fund to the Governor.
Rather than releasing the fund to the governor, the group advised that a tripartite committee be set up by the FG to pay the civil servants their entitlements.
The group leader Daniel Abaji who spoke to journalists on the matter yesterday in Lokoja stated that it would be a monumental disaster to release another fund to Bello who would rather use that to facilitate his campaign for the November 16, 2019 election.
“From the experience of what has been going on in Kogi State over payment of salary and allowance to civil servants in the State, any money released to the governor of the state is to hoist more pains on the people”, the group stated.
As a matter of hindsight, Capt Idris Wada was denied bailout fund in 2015 at a period like this with the excuse that he might use bailout fund to prosecute his re- election even though he was alleged owing workers two months salary carrying out infrastructural development along payment of salary.
According to the group, the interest of payment of salary to civil servants at this time, by Alhaji Yahaya Bello, is out of the way, as he would commit the fund to his campaign project for re- election.
“If he had performed well, as the youngest Governor in Nigeria today, he does not even need to campaign for re- election, it would have been a straight jacket affairs but releasing the bailout fund will be a calculated attempt to deny the civil servants their entitlements”, the group maintained.
The group further warned that “what is good for the goose is good for the gander”, Capt Idris Wada, as a Governor of Kogi State seeking re- election in 2015, was denied such luxury.
