Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Dr. Tom Ohikere, has carpeted the four-year administration of the incumbent governor of Kogi State, Captain Idris Wada, describing it as a waste.
He lamented that the inability of the present administration to pay salaries of workers at this period of the year is shameful.
Dr. Ohikere who was a former commissioner for information in the state disclosed this while speaking during a chat with journalists in Lokoja yesterday.
He pointed out that the people of the state had a bleak Christmas celebration this year because of the failure of the Wada-led administration to pay workers their salaries and other entitlements, stressing that in a civil service state like Kogi, every economic and social activity depends on salary payment.
The APC stalwart noted that at a recent meeting with stakeholders of the People Democratic Party, PDP, the governor was quoted as promising to pay all salary arrears before he leaves office, adding that incidentally, workers in the state’s public service have embarked on an indefinite strike as a result of non-payment of their salaries for three months.
“It is now clear to all people of good conscience and morality that Governor Wada has all the while built his government around deceit and barefaced lies,” Ohikere said.
Dr. Ohikere who headed the media team of Audu/ Faleke campaign, said following the strike, there is general lock-down in the state, with hospitals shut to patients and public utilities completely paralysed.
He lamented the disappearance of metro buses from the streets of Lokoja since Governor Wada lost the gubernatorial election, arguing that if such assets serving members of the public could openly be witdrawn without explanation, others could as well have been carted away unnoticed.
While Dr. Ohikere accused Governor Wada of paying all contractual obligations owed to his family members, friends and colleagues, he regretted that some of the contracts are yet to be completed or even not executed, as he alleged that new contractual agreements are being entered into, especially at the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB.
Ohikere alleged that the idea behind the phony contracts is to raise money to offset the huge bill resulting from the last election.
The former commissioner for information maintained that the present political imbroglio in the APC would be decided at the election tribunal as the issue involved has its kernel in constitutional interpretation as opposed to the presentation of witnesses.
Credit: National Mirror
