Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello has commended the Organized Labour in the state for their consistent in partnering with the state government and for their services through thick and thin.
The governor who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Folashade Arike Ayoade gave the commendation in an address on the occasion of 2019 Workers Day Celebration in the state.
“While it will be utterly impossible for me to fully appreciate the contributions of Organized Labour in Kogi State to where we are today as a State, let me thank you for your services through good times and bad, through thick and thin”.
The governor used the occasion to felicitate with workers in the state while describing the civil service as the engine room of government at all levels.
“May I use this occasion to felicitate with all of us on another Worker’s Day. No doubt, our workforce is the engine room of government at all levels. Politicians come and go but you keep the wheels of administration turning through successive governments. The Labour Force remains the embodiment of institutional memory in governance and a principal factor of productivity in the system.
“We cannot pretend today that there are no issues which remain unresolved around the welfare of our Labour Force. There are indeed several of such issues, but the most pressing of them all, at least to my Administration, is how to finally settle the remaining unpaid salaries due to our genuine workers.
“For the bulk of our workers who were cleared without any delays during the screening exercise which ended in 2017, we owe 4 to 5 months.
“The relative fewer numbers who were later re-added to the workforce after they failed screening may be owed more depending on when they were returned to the payroll. This category include those whose credentials were denied as fake by their schools but who later managed to resolve their differences with such institutions to the satisfaction of government.
“It will also be recalled that we inherited substantial liabilities in the form of unpaid workers’ remuneration from previous administrations, however, since government is a continuum, we have continued to treat those liabilities as ours and to tackle them as much as we can from our own meagre income.
“The leadership of Organized Labour in the State has been consistent in partnering with us whenever we receive extraordinary funds into the state. They can attest that whatever we agreed should go to salaries, have always gone to salaries.
“My promise to all my workers in Kogi State is that I will always be straightforward with them. I will work as hard as I can to make sure that we meet up with monthly salary payments, no matter how small the income of the state. We shall also continue to tackle the arrears as frequently and as aggressively as possible.
“We are going to key into the new minimum wage recently signed into law by Mr. President. As usual, we shall sit down with your leadership to fashion out workable modalities for this.
“On a brighter note, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released her Labour Force Statistics this week and our dear Kogi State is one of only 9 states out of 36 which recorded a reduction in unemployment and underemployment rates despite a general increase in the overall national rate.
“It gladdens my heart when the benefits of our difficult but necessary Civil Service and Pension Reforms are confirmed by credible institutions. We trust that when it all matures, our workers will be the greatest beneficiaries.
“I am determined to be that Governor who will bequeath to Kogi State a sanitized, digitized and motivated modern workforce,” she said.
