Yahaya Bello: I only owe four months salaries

Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi state, says he only owes the state workers four months salaries.

The governor said this following a claim by the state chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) that he owed the state workers between 8 to 38 salary arrears.

Kingsley Fanwo, spokesman of the governor, said the state government had paid salaries for 38 months since it came into power.

Fanwo said this during a press briefing after an All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders’ meeting in Takete Ide Amuro in Mopamuro local government area, on Monday.

“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,” he said.

“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.

“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.”

Fanwo also dismissed reports insinuating that the governor was planning to dump the ruling party.

“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,” he said.

“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?”