Civil servant who committed suicide not paid because he falsified his age, says Kogi govt

The Kogi State government says the salary of Edward Soje, the civil servant who committed suicide after his wife delivered triplets, was withheld after it was discovered that he falsified his age.

Deborah Ogunmola, Head of Service of the state, made this known in a statement on Sunday. She said that although Soje’s death was regrettable and unfortunate, the state should not be blamed for it.

Fifty-four-year old Soje was a director at Kogi State Teaching Service Commission before his demise.

Family sources said the deceased had been facing a series of financial challenges as a result of his unpaid salaries. His death came 10 days after his wife gave birth to a set of triplets. NAN said the couple had been childless since they got married 17 years ago.

But in the statement on Sunday, Ogunmola said the just concluded workers’ verification exercise in Kogi State revealed that Soje engaged in false age declaration.

“His pay was stopped after proof emerged that he falsified his age records. His confession to the offence is on video,” Ogunmola said.

“Following engagements with Labour, which spanned several months, the Kogi State Governor magnanimously commuted the disciplinary action due against certain categories of offenders by grant of pardon. Mr. Soje fell into one of the categories.

“Pardoned staff were processed for reinstatement and payment in batches. Mr. Soje was in the September 2017 batch and he was aware of this fact.

“The Kogi State Teaching Service Commission, where he works, has forwarded a template for payment to Government and Mr. Soje was aware that he was listed to receive six months back pay, leaving only two months (August and September) outstanding.”

The Kogi State government has been roundly criticised over its inability to pay its workers several months of Salary arrears.