Yahaya Bello Breaks Silence On Not Paying Workers’ Salaries

The governor of Kogi state, north-central Nigeria, Yahaya Bello, says his administration has paid salaries for 38 months since he came into office in January 2016.

Naija News reports that the Kogi governor made this claims through his Director General of Media and Publicity, Kingsley Fanwo.

This online news platform understands that Fanwo made this comment at Takete Ide Amuro in Mopamuro Local Government Area while briefing journalists after APC stakeholders’ meeting in the ward.

His words: “One of the questions our party members asked during the meeting was about the claim by labour that we are owing workers 38 months salaries.

“As far as government is concerned, we have paid 38 months salaries starting from September 2015. We have been in office for just 39 months. But we are still owing four months’ salaries because we started paying from the period we are yet to assume power.

“We are not in any power play with labour. We will continue to appreciate their understanding and we pledge to clear all arrears as soon as possible.”

Fanwo said the government has struggled to bridge the gap inherited because of the dwindling revenue and contending needs of the people of Kogi State.

“We know how pivotal salaries are to microeconomics and we also know we owe other sectors of the public a good number of social amenities. Government will continue to manage the contending interests to serve a good number of the population.”

On the rumoured decamping of the governor to Accord Party, the Media Director said the promoters of the rumour failed to “rehearse their falsehood properly.”

According to him, “such rumours will fail a major logic lab test.”

His words, “It is laughable to insinuate that a governor that just led our party to landslide and historic victory in the 2019 general elections is about to abandon his bungalow to rent a hut.

“If this is the kind of propaganda opposition wants to fly with, then they are not ready for the November 2nd electoral battle in the state.

“Governor Yahaya Bello is the landlord of Kogi APC. Anyone coming is a tenant. Where were those opponents when he built the party into what dwarfed others in the 2019 elections?

“The people spreading those rumours are political comedians with lazy minds. They are conceding defeats with such cheap jokes.”