The Editor,
I appeal to you in the name of God almighty to please plead with the President of this Country President Mohammadu Buhari to please intervene in the deteriorating situation in Kogi State Concerning the Payments of Salaries and Pensions of workers and pensioners.
The Kogi State government started a Staff Screening exercise Since February 2016 and up till now it is ongoing. Nobody quarrels with that, but our concern is the hardship the poor people are going through. For example:-
- The State Pensioners in Kogi State are 9000+. After the first round of screening the State government came out with 4,000 paid. The remaining 5000+ Pensioners are still unpaid till today. Majority have not been paid Pension Since December 2015 while some Since January 2016 -no reasons have been given for this up till today. It must be hereby emphasized that all the 9000+ Pensioners appeared in flesh and blood before the Screening Committees. They are no “GHOST” at all. They were all screened.
- The Local Government Staffs & Primary School Teachers Pensioners are about 6000+ only 2,700 were paid leaving out a total of 3,300+ pensioners unpaid-since March 2016.They all, also appeared in persons before the Screening Committees. They were equally screened.
The State government has not come out with any reason(s) why these pensioners have not been paid.
Many of these Pensioners are old, some weak and sick either in the hospitals or in their homes. Many are on daily drugs and some had to pay some aides to assist them. Pensioners are dying in Kogi on daily basis as a result of frustration, hunger and sickness.
Same goes for the Workers, up till today, no Staff have been paid in any of the 21 Local government Education Authority offices since March 2016.In some hospitals, none of the Nurses are paid like in Okene General Hospital while in some schools only 20% of the staffs have been paid. There are some schools, especially, Science Schools; only one teacher has been paid in each of some of them, while in some Primary Schools only 3 teachers are randomly paid. This situation is all over Kogi State. There is hunger, disease and frustration all over the state.
Yours faithfully,
Tant’olorun Esan
Lokongoma, Lokoja,
Kogi State
Enclosure: Here attached is the communiqué from the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, (Kogi Chapter)
