There is an ongoing Labor/Government face-off in Kogi State which has left civil servants in a pathetic and inhumane condition. Currently, all workers under the employment of the Kogi state government are being owed a minimum of 3 months salaries.
Citing the insensitivity of the state government to their plight, the labour union embarked on an indefinite strike on 22nd September 2017 to press home their demands.
Some weeks after, the state of workers in Kogi became a national issue as senators were seen donating bags of rice to Kogi Civil Servants, a situation that can best be described as pathetic.
In order to find a solution to the faceoff between the labour union and the Government, EiE Nigeria invited both parties to the #OfficeOfTheCitizen Lokoja- our Citizens’ engagement program on Radio. The Kogi State Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress, Onuh Edoka, was invited alongside Folashade Ayoade, the Secretary to the Kogi State Government.
While the SSG refused to show up without any tangible reason, the NLC chairman shed light into the travails of Civil Servants in the state.According to him, until 22nd of September when labour embarked on the strike, the state government didn’t respond to their numerous letters and protests. Negotiations only resumed yesterday after the murder of one of the NLC state leaders.
Mr Onuh also challenged the state government to explain how the federal allocation for September and October was spent since salaries of workers were not paid for the two months.
In the same vein, a caller on the program lambasted the Government for conducting a lopsided verification process in the civil service. According to him, the whole process is not efficient since some offenders are walking scot-free.
With such a pertinent issue that relates to the welfare of citizens up for discussion, it is a surprise that Kogi State Government decided to boycott the program. Or could they be attending to more pressing issues?