In this report, SAM EGWU examines the controversy surrounding the face between Kogi State government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state against the backdrop of effort being made by Governor Yahaya Bello to weed out ghost workers through his verification exercise.
July 20, 2016 formed the crux of the matter when the national body of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) beamed its searchlight on Kogi State in search of infraction against its members who had been allegedly subjected to all manners of injustice ranging from non payment of workers’ salaries, both at state and local levels, non payment of gratuities to pensioners at state and local levels and non implementation of minimum wage. All these led to a strike action which almost paralysed activities in the civil service in the state in the last couple of weeks.
Curiously, one of the genuine intentions of the present administration of Governor Yahaya Bello, with all intent and purpose, is to conduct the staff verification exercise which to the admiration of all has brought out the fraud which has bedeviling Kogi State from inception till date and retarded the growth of the state. The latest discovery has shown that N213billion has been lost to Ghost workers or those who have been deprived in the last 16 years.
On the other hand, Onu Abdullahi, the State Chairman of Pensioner Association of Nigeria said, while verification was ongoing, others who have been cleared needed to be paid their pittance, stressing that some after accessing their pension do not collect more than N2000, a pitiable situation and some of the pensioners spend close to N5000 to come to the headquarters, Lokoja to access their fund.
Also, the NLC under the leadership of Comrade Onu Edoka alleged that genuine workers were being declared ghost workers. He said the meddlesomeness which has led to restricting workers to opening account in just two banks, Zenith and Access banks was a negation and a colossal antics to punish workers.
The discordant tune from the workers got the attention of the National President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba. He tasked President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to probe the Kogi state governor over bailout funds granted to states of the federation. He equally said 2 million Nigerian workers would be mobilised to Kogi state in four weeks which commenced from July 20, if the state government fails to resolve the industrial crisis in the state.
This is just as the Labour leaders in the state said they had abandoned their houses, following threats and intimidation from unknown persons since the strike action in the state commenced. Wabba who drppoed this bomb shell in Lokoja, the state capital while addressing workers of the state who have been on strike for almost four weeks, said the situation in Kogi state was different and pathetic, noting that urgent steps were needed to salvage the situation.
According to him, there was the need for the federal government to probe the application of bailout funds to states since it was obvious that some of the states did not adhere to the regulations guiding the disbursement. The NLC boss added that it was wrong for the Kogi state government to have disbursed the N20billion bailout fund part payment without the committee expected to draw its membership from the workers, security agencies, the executive and other bodies.
On its part, the state government has maintained had genuine intentions for the workers and their leaders. Speaking on the effort by the state government to meet the demands of workers especially in clearing their salary arrears, the Special Adviser to Governor Bello on Media and Strategy, Mallam Abdulmalik Abdulkarim expressed government determination to alleviate the suffering of its workers.
Abdulkarim told journalists that out of the six months salaries owed workers, government has been able to pay three months arrears to all the staff of ministries, departments and agencies except those who have peculiar problems to be corrected before the commencement of their payment.
Similarly, the staff of the 21 local government areas of the state and primary school teachers in the state have been paid their three months salary arrears, while that of the pensioneers at both local and state levels are seriously being processed for immediate payment.
The governor’s aide explained that the N20billion Bailout fund released by the federal government to effect the clearing of the salary arrears represented 40 per cent of the total sum of the fund sought as bailout of which the current payment is based on.
Abdulkarim appealled to labour leaders in the state to come out of their hiding and make themselves available for dialogue with government on the way forward. “Governor Yahaya Bello’s led administration in Kogi State is a labour friendly one who will continue to work in harmony with the labour towards the development of the state”, the Special Adviser said.
He called on the entire people of Kogi State to join hands with the present administration in the state towards the realization of its new Direction Agenda for rapid transformation of communities across the state. According to him, the president should gather the will and courage to investigate the alleged mismanagement of the bailout funds by some governors in the country.
The Kogi State government is insisting that over 70 per cent of workers have collected their monthly remuneration up to date. The Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Print Media, Comrade Adamu Idakwo who spoke to LEADERSHIP explained that the workers were all on their beats, noting that those at the Labour secretariat were hired and rented spectators. He stressed that a faction of NLC were the ones trying to hold the state government to ransom, pointing out that a genuine NLC would have sought to hold audience with the governor.
Also, the state commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mohammed Awal argued that the state government was not resting on its oars, as efforts are geared towards ensuring that the verification exercise were completed on schedule. He noted that normalcy will soon return to the Kogi state civil service as government has at last resolved to set up a committee to look into the issues at stake with a view to ending the lingering strike action embarked upon by workers.
Awal said, “The current face-off between the organised labour and the state government is a family issue which the council believes is capable of being solved amicably in the interest of the good people of Kogi State. We have to disagree to agree”.
Already, 21 Local Government councils and Primary School Teachers in Kogi State have been paid three months salaries by the Council administrators. Kogi State Auditor General, Alhaji Yakubu Okala who disclosed this said staff of all the 21 local government area in the state have also received three months salaries.
Okala who spoke in a joint state radio interview with the Auditor General of Local Governments, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo noted that most Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) have been paid three months. He said the committee will continue its staff screening to enable those who are yet to receive bank alert receive their salaries as soon as possible.
Okala also disclosed that all the tertiary institutions in the state were paid four months salaries. He lamented that before the screening exercise, one person usually takes salaries in 40 places, stressing that such fraudulent behaviour was drawing the state backward. “Government cannot continue to feed people who are not on the pay roll. We must depart from the way things are done in the past. The governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello is ready to effect positive change in the interest of the state”, he said.
He called on the workers to support the new direction agenda of the present administration, saying the screening exercise was meant to screen out ghost workers so that genuine staff can enjoy the fruit of their labour.
Credits: Sam Egwu/Leadership
0 comments:
Post a Comment