Lokoja Diocese of the Catholic community, has appealed to well to do in the society, to contribute all manner of food stuff and cash to the civil servants in the state, who had no access to salaries and pensions for a long time This call became necessarily as the economic situation of members of the church, who are etiher civil servants or pensioners, had deteriorated beyond imagination Investigations revealed that some members of the church, who are workers and pensioners in kogi, have not accessed salaries and pensions ranging from 8/10/15/20/38 months resulting to severe hunger,suffering,hardship,sickness and death.
The Catholic authorities said the decision became imperative, with the growing unabated percentage and lack of salaries for the state workforce and pension,as the church may not be able to attend to the financial needs of the church members and followers Workers in kogi have resorted to begging and other forms of survival, as salaries and pension had been deliberately delayed or denied by the state government ranging to about 38 months with no hope in sight The Christian community mandated the privileged ones in the society of non Catholic extraction, to extend same to other denominations,saying the suffering for the kogi workers is becoming unbearable and unimaginable to the people They also urged the state government as a matter of urgency roll out a program that will move the current state of workers and welfare above board,saying it does not speak well of the current administration:
“We are not meddling into the political affairs of the state,but hold in high esteem the social and economic development of the state, as a corollary and bane of all other forms of development,particularly the welfare of the people “