By Mohammed Yabagi.
Kogi State Government has debunked reports in some sections of the media where the Chief of Staff to Governor Yahaya Bello, Hon Edward Onoja was quoted to have admitted to owing workers in the state for 38 months.
Chief of Staff to the Kogi State Governor, Edward Onoja gave the assertion on Saturday in Lokoja, saying the news credited to him wherein he was said to be have apologised to the civil servants in the state between eight to 38months salaries was false.
He stressed that the State did not owe any genuine civil servants in the state such amount of salary arrears, adding that most of the persons crying wolf were civil servants that were affected during the screening exercise due to certain anomalies.
Onoja who was speaking on Saturday at a One Day Interactive Meeting organised by the Better Kogi Movement with the theme: “Quality Leadership and Youth Inclusiveness in Governance,” accused segments of the media of “constituting a major national problem which required immediate check as the infiltration of falsehood and propaganda is becoming alarming”.
He clarified that during the civil service screening exercise in the first year of the Yahaya Bello administration, about 10,000 civil servants were found wanting, falling under categories ranging from age falsification, certificate forgery among other criminal issues legally requiring dismissal, imprisonment among other punitive measures.
He further stated that due to the magnanimity of the Governor, many were pardoned and some sort of soft landing were offered, an action by the state government that was now being taken for granted.
He said the people should be mindful of the information they believe and spread on the social media as it was their duty to verify such information so as to ensure that truthfulness was upheld in the society.
