Workers in Benue State heaved a sigh of relief after receiving one month salary from the state government.

Some of the workers who spoke to our correspondent in Makurdi, the state capital, said they started receiving alerts on Sunday.

Oraduen, a worker under the state government’s employ, said it felt so good to get paid after working without pay for the past seven months.

“I feel so happy with the payment of this one month salary. I got an alert at about 8pm on Sunday. And my spirit has come alive again. The situation was so bad before now such that I had to park my car and trek.”


“Now, I can put my car in use; send some money to my sick my mother and buy food for my household. I’m not the only one excited, everyone in my office feels good too and those who haven’t been coming to work are at their duty post this morning. We hope to get another three months of salary before the end of the week,” Oraduen who didn’t want his first name mentioned, said.

Also, another worker, Fidelis, said he got a one month alert of payment of his salary on Monday morning after being owed for eight months.

Fidelis, alongside another worker, Daniel, expressed delight that the one month salary paid to them would cushion the effect of hardship which their families have been through in the past months of unpaid salaries.

The state’s Chairman of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Terungwa Igbe, also confirmed that the workers have been paid one month salary.
Meanwhile, a few others including teachers and pensioners told our correspondent that they are still waiting to be paid.

A teacher in one of the Primary school in Makurdi, who just wanted to be identified as Doosuur, said they were hoping to be paid as well.

Chairman of the Concerned/Aggrieved Pensioners in Benue State, Comrade Akosu Ioream, said, “Local government pensioners of primary school board have started receiving alert but that is not a verified news. As for Benue State pensioners which I’m the chairman, we have not started receiving any alert; we having our exco meeting now, so if something like that has happened I would have known.


“We’re hoping that any moment from now, we will get our alerts; I hear that the delay is because they want to rid ghost pensioners and other irregularities as our voucher is being prepared. I also heard that the governor wants to pay us more than three months so they are preparing vouchers. But, there are no yet authentic information as to when and how we will start getting our pension alerts.”

BATdBigot:
And how is this news for God's sake? Foreigners reading such pathetic news on nairaland would be wondering if Nigerians are normal or subhumans. Someone worked yet you make it seem as if paying their wages is such a great achievement?

I hope this pastor won't allow Tinubu's senseless propaganda infect him too.

DaddyFreeze2020:
EFCC should arrest former Governor of Benue State Samuel Ortom and ask him what he was using their unpaid salaries to do.

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, says Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, shouldn’t be blamed for owing salaries of workers and pensioners.
Ortom is known for having the longest record of unpaid salaries despite collecting different multi-billion naira loans.

Many workers under the state employ have been complaining of being owed several months’ salaries.

Speaking in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, Obi said Ortom shouldn’t be blamed for owing salaries because the governor usually spent millions of Naira monthly to run the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps across the state.

“Benue State is spending several millions to keep all these IDP camps running. There is no way all these things won’t cost Benue State about half a billion Naira monthly to keep them going.

“And then you go round and say they are owing salaries, owing contractors or they are owing anybody, it shows that they have to do those first before thinking about any other thing; because these people have to live. And ordinary, these shouldn’t be problem of Benue State, it should be the problem of Nigeria,” Obi said.

franktolk:


Which foreigner dey read your stories.
I laughed sometimes when I hear some people saying "the whole world is looking at us".

The truth is the average foreigner knows nothing about Nigeria. Some of them do not even know we speak English in Nigeria. They only go with what is reported on their media (the usual negative news about Africa)

BATdBigot:
And how is this news for God's sake? Foreigners reading such pathetic news on nairaland would be wondering if Nigerians are normal or subhumans. Someone worked yet you make it seem as if paying their wages is such a great achievement?

I hope this pastor won't allow Tinubu's senseless propaganda infect him too.

Faiththatworks:
Hmmmmm
God bless Rev. Father Alia
God bless the sensible people of Benue state
God bless APC
God bless Senator George Akume for making Rev Father Alia the gubernatorial candidate of APC.
God destroy PDP
EFCC should imprison that failed Governor Called Ortom.
How can anyone even consider contesting for the post of a Senator after refusing to pay its pensioners for 10 months and government workers 3 month before an election.
Tueh on Ortom...
One month salary since December last year,now you understand why Failed Gov Ortom never wanted the Fulani crisis in Benue to stop,the man always had an excuse never to pay salaries and Pensions.
Every month end for more than 8 months,there was always a recycled press statement on Fulani herders invading Benue state,it's month end now and Gov Alia hasn't released any dirty press statement but instead paid the salary of the government workers.
Ortom should be a course in the University on failed leadership in Nigeria since We got our independence since 1960.
It's characters like Failed Governor Ortom that allows the military to take back power from civilians.
Thank God he has been sent to the jungle of perdition by sensible Benue people.
Tueh again on Failed Governor Ortom.
God bless Father Alia
God bless Benue state
God bless Nigeria

OloYeOfEgbE:
7 months......?

As in ehn and riff-raffs are collecting billions so called protection of pipeline when we have the NAVY...