Excitement as Kogi clears salary arrears

Kogi State civil servants in Lokoja, on Wednesday, thronged commercial banks’ Automated Teller Machines (ATM) for cash withdrawals while celebrating the clearance of their salary backlogs by the state government.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that the government had promised to clear the salary backlogs of all the genuine workers and pensioners in the state by December 20.

NAN correspondent, who monitored the development, noted that bank premises and ATMs in Lokoja metropolis, were crowded with civil servants waiting patiently with excitement for their turn to withdraw cash.

Some civil servants who spoke with NAN expressed gratitude to the governor for fulfilling his promise to clear their salary backlogs.

A worker at the Ministry of Information, Mr Al-Hassan Jimoh, said he was very happy that he got nine months’ salary alert on Tuesday.

“In spite of all the hardships, I believed in Governor Bello because I was convinced that he was doing the right thing,” Jimoh said

A Level 12 officer at the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Monday Eleshin, said he received alert for 10 months’ salary backlogs on Tuesday.

“This government has really tried through the screening because some people were collecting up to 30 persons’salaries which is what they are investigating. I am grateful to our governor,” Eleshin said.

Mrs Kemi Dada, a sanitation board official, said though the screening was painful for a while, it finally yielded positive results.

“We thank Governor Yahaya Bello for his commitment to making good his promises, by paying all genuine workers in the state; my salary has been paid up to December,” Dada said.

However, some local government workers and pensioners in the state told NAN that they were yet to receive any payment alert.

Munirat Oju, a worker at Lokoja Local Government, said she had not been paid since February even when her name had been cleared during the screening since August.

She urged the state government to prevail on the local government administrators to clear the salary backlogs of all the genuine workers at the local government level.