Organised labour chides Kogi govt for breaking pact on salary arrears

The organised labour in Kogi State has accused the government of breaking the agreement they had on salary arrears.

The state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Onuh Edoka, and his counterpart in the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Ranti Ojo, disclosed this in a joint statement in Lokoja.

The unions faulted Governor Yahaya Bello’s claim in a television interview that he had paid the salary arrears of civil servants up to December 2017.

They said his statement contradicted that of his spokesperson, Kingsley Fanwo, who had explained the reasons for the existing percentage payments.

Fanwo had in the process, promised that the difference in the salaries would be paid in due course.

The organised labour said available records show that government had unilaterally paid 60 per cent and 40 per cent salaries to workers from August to December 2017.

According to them, the salary arrears due to some workers range from six to 22 months.

They expressed concern at the governor’s position, which they described as misleading.

The union leaders also dismissed Bello’s claim that the state borrowed N10 billion to pay salary arrears.

They said the governor could not have borrowed such money since it received over 6 billion as Paris Club loan refunds, in addition to its monthly allocations.

The organised labour stressed that the amount could also have been enough to pay the full salaries of all categories of workers, whose wage bill the governor gave as 2.6 billion.