…the screening exercise was a satanic process and its report should be thrown away – Victor Omofaiye (Ijumu, PDP)
…probe screening committee members – Sunday Shigaba (Bassa, PDP)
… an attempt to downsize hiding under the guise of screening workers is uncalled for – Hassan Abdullahi (Okura, APC)
…it is not that people has been sent out of job, but the state has been thrown into a mess – Linus Eneche (Olamaboro, APC)
…The reaction of chief of staff to the governor on Channels Television to Kogi State Polytechnic Staff protests is disturbing – Sani Friday Makama (Igalamela-Odolu, PDP)
…the screening committee has misled the government – Godwin Osuyi (Ogori-Magongo, PDP)
…most of us in this hallow chamber are afraid of to home – Matthew Kolawole (Kabba-Bunu, PDP – Majority Leader)
…disband screening exercise – Moses Ododo (Dekina, APC)
…This development has claimed lives of huge number of people in their various local government – Rabiu Momoh Alfa (Ankpa II, APC)
… what has been seen as a result of the screening exercise is a deliberate act to punish the people. it seems the mind of the committee is already made up right from the beginning. I think we have created new ghost workers in kogi state, so we have broken another record – Aliyu Akuh (Omala, PDP – Deputy Speaker)
Members of Kogi State House of Assembly took turns to appraise the process and final report of the 1-year long Kogi State Staff verification exercise today.
The appraisal, which lasted for three hours, was in response to a motion of urgent public importance moved by the member representing Igalamela-Odolu state constituency Dr Friday Sanni Makama.
The Kogi State review and screening committee has been directed to submit its report to the kogi state house of Assembly within the next twenty four hours. The motion was seconded by the lawmaker representing Lokoja II state constituency, Honourable Idris Ndako.
In the motion which the lawmaker titled “Save the Soul of Kogi Workers”, Makama said he was constrained to move this motion considering the overwhelming evidences of non-payment of state and local government workers in the state and the consuming suffering that is perpetually leading to high poverty status, disease, and death of their people.
He stated before his colleagues that the screening that started since the inception of the current administration has lingered on without an end. Honourable Makama expressed concern that both the initial failed exercise by the screening committee and the re-screening exercise by the second committee were both incapacitated, hence failed to deliver workers in the state from the current unbearable situation.
“The question one is forced to ask therefore is whether Kogi state and local government workers are being owed salaries. If no or yes, then we should be able to situate the idea behind the disbursement of bailout fund squarely and to what purpose”, he said.
“The fact stares into our faces that the people have lost total confidence in the entire screening exercise considering the complexities and complications that deliberately, either by act of omission or commission that has brought the state into a mess.
“In this circumstance, this house has a duty to salvage the people and the state from breakdown of law and order, and avoiding more suffering, diseases and deaths”, Makama added.
The Igalamela-Odolu lawmaker frowned at the role played by the governor’s aides concerning the problem at hand and also his Chief of Staff, Mr. Edward Onoja when he granted an interview to channels television.
He lamented that, “the response of the media aides to the governor did more harms than good. Their reactions to the protests by workers of the state owned tertiary institutions, particularly Kogi State Polytechnic lecturers is unbecoming.
“The reaction of chief of staff to the governor, simply put, is disturbing. Not only to me but to this August assembly that represents the conscience of the people. His reaction at the channels television, describing the protest ‘as baseless and politically motivated’ is simply denying the agitation of the people and salary arrears upon which the bailout fund was accessed”.
Makama prayed that, considering the prevailing circumstance of several plans of workers at all fold to embark on an indefinite strike, there is need for the house to resolve that the entire screening exercise be suspended and that the state government be enjoined to commence immediate payment of salaries to all civil servants, both at the state and local government level pending the outcome of the ad-hoc committee set up by the house to understudy the whole exercise and report back to the house as urgent as possible.
In a three hour deliberation in the floor of the hallow chamber, members took turns to condemn the just concluded screening exercise embarked upon by the current administration.
According to member representing Olamaboro, Hon. Linus Eneche, most workers in the state spent Christmas in hunger. He called the attention of his colleagues to the need to bring back lives to sufferings workers in kogi state.
“It is not that people has been sent out of job, but the state has been thrown into a mess”, he said.
He appealed to the house to summon the screening committee to appear before the assembly in a bid to explain the criteria used for the screening exercise.
Hon. Godwin Osuyi, member representing Ogori-Magongo said the screening committee has misled the government.
“Our health sector is begging for alms. As the chairman, House committee on health, I toured most of the health centres and they are short of staff and drugs. Where do we fallback to? Is it gbogbonishe?
According to the Majority Leader, Hon. Mathew Kolawole, the situation on ground is worrisome.
According to him, “most of us in this hallow chamber are afraid of to home. Wada lost election because he couldn’t pay workers salary. To me the screening exercise embarked upon by government is welcome but the idea behind it called for concern”.
“In College of Education (Technical), Kabba, they recently lost 67 students who moved to other schools because of lack of teachers”, Kolawole added.
Sunday Shigaba (Bassa) while commending the Governor for his determination to sanitize the state workforce, called for the probing of the screening committee members. He added that the screening committee members are incompetent.
“If they are found guilty that they are incompetent, their report should be declared null and void”, he said.
Victor Omofaye (Ijumu) described the exercise as satanic while Moses Ododo called for the disbandment of the screening exercise.
Hassan Abdullahi representing Okura stated that the exercise failed to establish the relationship between screening and downsizing.
“An attempt to downsize, hiding under the guise of screening workers is uncalled for”, he said.
“Some of the people tagged as ghost workers are due to age declaration, change of names. Some families are very unfortunate to the point that the father, mother and children are affected. How did they want them to live? Did they want them to die? The idea behind this screening exercise is called downsizing and not hunting for ghost workers”, he added.
Rabiu Momoh Alfa representing Ankpa II said his committee clerk was declared as a ghost worker.
“This development has claimed lives of huge number of people in their various local government”, he lamented.
Deputy Speaker of the House, Honourable Aliyu Akuh said since the screening exercise began last year, it has hampered the progress of the state.
“What has been seen as a result of the screening exercise is a deliberate act to punish the people. It seems the mind of the committee is already made up right from the beginning. I think we have created new ghost workers in Kogi state, so we have broken another record.”
Ruling on the matter, the Speaker Ahmed Imam said motion like this is bound to generate heat. He however directed the joint committee on establishment, judiciary, pension and local government to study the report when submitted and report back in one week.
