Connect with us

News

Gov Bello stirs fresh controversy, claims govt not owing state workers

Published

on

Yahaya Bello

The Governor-Elect of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello has denied reports that he was owing state workers.

In an interview, he described the claims as “lies.”

The governor who revealed this while featuring on Channels Television on Tuesday said his government, on assumption of office, inherited a salary backlog in the state from the previous government.

According to him, the issue of owing salaries started from Audu to his immediate predecessor. He further claimed that Kogi State was not owing any dime at the state level at the moment.

He said: “All these reports of me owing salaries are lies. Past governors of Kogi State owed salaries starting from Audu to my immediate predecessor. Kogi state is not owning any dime at the state level, what is left is the ten percent from the previous government.

READ ALSO: Suspected political thugs set ablaze PDP women leader in Kogi

“As for El-Rufai kneeling, he was begging that Kogi people should forgive Bello for ensuring security and ensuring the state was peaceful and not because he could not pay salaries.”

On the claim of people being killed during the election, Bello said: “After I was declared winner, a PDP thug stabbed somebody and ran into the house of their woman leader but he was caught and dealt with.

“My deputy governor-elect’s wife was shot at but thank God she didn’t die, the police are looking into it and would bring the culprits to book.”

The salary arrears allegedly owed Kogi civil servants has remained a huge burden for Bello, and critics consider his recent outburst insensitive as government is meant to be a continuum.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now