Posted on: 09:47 Wed, 31 Aug 2016



Kogi House of Assembly yesterday summoned the committee screening the state workforce to appear before it on Thursday to explain reasons for non-payment of salaries of some genuine staff.

The house issued the summon in a resolution at plenary in Lokoja following the adoption of a motion by Mr Sunday Shigaba (PDP- Bassa) over the outcry arising from the hardship being experienced by the civil servants over non-payment of salaries.

Shigaba said the screening had become a very serious matter as their constituents are crying over the hardships being experienced by them.

Seconding the motion, Victor Omofaiye (PDP-Ijumu) said though the intention behind the screening exercise was quite good, the process adopted in executing the mandate was adversely affecting everybody.

Also speaking, Alfa Momoh-Rabiu (APC-Ankpa II) hinted that the disadvantage of the screening exercise in his constituency was worrisome as even genuine workers were being denied their salaries for upward of seven months.

He said five principals of secondary schools in the constituency had been declared ghost workers by the screening committee adding that attempts to intervene in the matter had met stiff walls as committee kept saying it would do something about it.

“My people are running out of patience and I don’t want Kogi to be declared a lawless state. Something has to be done before this people take laws into their hands.”

Majority Leader of the House, Matthew Kolawole (PDP-Kabba-Bunu) frowned at the practice where civil servants (genuine or otherwise) who complained to the committee were handed over to the police and detained.