“We’ve been working since 2015, yet no salary for us”
Employees of Kogi State Government in Kogi State Broadcasting Service employed in 2015 or have their appointement confirmed within the same period after 15 years, have demanded payment of their salaries accrued by the State Government,Observer times has Authoritatively Gathered.
This is on the premise that the administration of Governor Yahaya Bello refused to pay the affected 2015 workers, even when they were on the state payroll in 2015 before the inception of the present administration,with some of them had their appointements confirmed after about 15 years in service.
Observer times further gathered that the staffers salaries was stopped forthwith by the state government under Yahaya Bello for no reasons,and have them replaced with his kinsmen,through the pay roll initiated by former Governor Idris Wada.
The previous administration was magnanimous after a careful study of the circumstances and sacrifices made by the workers for consecutive 15 years without letters of confirmation,while to address the growing staff shortage,some were duly employed to improve the services of the State Radio.
The administration of Capt Idris Wada upgraded the facilities of the state Radio including the three sub stations at Otite,Egbe and Ochaja to FM stations and needed more manpower to manage the facilities that warrants the 2015 recruitement.
It was revealed that most of the staffers of the state Radio from Kwara and Benue had retired and the engagement of casual workers was Inimical to it’s activities,hence the need for the 2015 employement exercise.
The names of those inherited and newly employed were already inculcated into the nominal roll of the state pay roll,many months by the administration of Capt Idris Wada.
The state government under the guise of staff screening and verification removed unilaterally names of staffers of the state Radio employed and have their appointements confirmed in 2015 by the previous administration.
Kogi State Broadcasting Corporation has been a parlour of ethnic politics, where staffers on lower level were been replaced with the senior ones,for the sheer fact of belonging to a particular ethnic group of the state governor.
This is in addition to the normal posting of staff of the corporation to the state governmment organisation,as self centredness,greed,ethnic consideration and nepotism had override the activities of the agency like the sister company,the Graphics Weekly Newspaper.
It is abnormal in government circle not to pay workers entitlements when laid off or retired after service of 15 years in an organization,a system adopted by the current administration under the guise of staff verification and screening exercise.
Kogi state government on several occasions has denied in the media of not owing state workers 40 months salaries,as this group of workers fell into the category of the affected people in the state work force.