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You owe workers 39-month salary arrears, Kogi labour tells Bello

The organized labour in Kogi state, on Wednesday, told Yahaya Bello, the state governor, that his administration owed workers eight to 39-month salary arrears.

Onu Edoka, the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), disclosed this in Lokoja, during an emergency meeting between the governor and the leaders of the organised labour.

The meeting, which was at the instance of the government, took place at the governor’s office.

Edoka, who took exception to recent media reports quoting the governor as saying that he was not owing workers a dime, insisted that the state government was heavily indebted to workers.

“We wish to unequivocally state that His Excellency’s administration owes Kogi workers and pensioners heavily in terms of salaries, pensions and other entitlements,” he said.

“We are more bewildered by the fact that at one time the government accepts the fact of her heavy indebtness to workers, and at another time the denial card is played.”

He reminded Bello that as at the time he came into office on January 27, 2016, the workers were being owed three months salary and pension arrears.

According to him, Bello’s administration received the allocation for January 2016, thereby putting the responsibility of payment of salary of that month on him, and not the previous administration.

“You claimed to have spent the N20 billion bailout fund on payment of salary and pensions, but your refusal to utilise several years of monthly allocations for the same purpose gave room to the present backlog of salary and pensions,” Edoka said.

“As at today, the outstanding salaries and pensions arrears are in six different categories, ranging from eight months to 39 months.

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