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Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, on Monday said his government is not owing workers in the state 38 months salaries as being reported, adding that he has no problem with the workers.
The Director of Media and Publicity to the Governor, Kingsley Fanwo, stated this at an All Progressives Congress(APC) stakeholders meeting in Takete Ide Amuro, Mopamoro Local Government area of the state.
The governor said his administration has paid workers salaries for 38 months since his government came into office in January 2016.
“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.
“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 said.
Speaking on reports making the rounds that the governor is set to dump the APC for the Accord Party, Fanwo said: “The promoters of the rumour failed to rehearse their falsehood properly and such rumours will fail a major logic lab test.
“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.
“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.
“The people spreading those rumours are political comedians with lazy minds. They are conceding defeats with such cheap jokes.
“We know the promoters of these fake news and propaganda against the person of the governor and the government of Kogi State. They are discredited individuals who have been fingered for inducing judges with dollars; those who threatened to commit suicide in order to implicate others; those who coordinated the killing of our students and innocent citizens and those who turned themselves to monkeys and stayed on the tree for 12 hours.
“All these ignoble theatrics are well profiled in the minds of our people. They work against their people for political gains. But today, they have been dumbfounded by the success of the governor at the polls. He has shown the world that the people are solidly with him”.