The issue of unpaid salaries in Kogi State calls for the declaration of state of emergency. Aside the indisputable ‘award-winning’ salary debtor in Osun state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Kogi State governor is a national leader when it comes to unpaid salaries and pensions. I agree with the summation of a former Governor of Kogi State who described Governor Yahaya Bello as a ‘Legend of unpaid salaries’.
Last week was a week of vain hope in Kogi State. Wearied workers and retirees hoped against hope. They encouraged one another that the state government will pay them before end of last week. Last week came and gone, no word from government.
The most worrisome is the fact that labour leaders are nowhere to be found! Who will speak out on behalf of the sad, burdened workers who still have to find their ways to their respective offices whether they can afford it or not. The situation is so bad that we now have a notorious ‘I no get transport fare’ junction at the state secretariat in Lokoja. Here, civil servants wait under the sun and beg for lift. They also hang around here to beg for a low as N200 to enable them meet domestic obligations.
For the avoidance of doubt, the last time workers and pensioners got a dime from the government was during the last Sallah celebrations in August. precisely, August 16. Workers in tertiary institutions were paid April 2019 salary while some selected MDAs got May 2019 salaries. Omitted MDAs got their after Sallah. These are civil servants who are fortunate to be on GYB monthly salary schedule. So many who are not privileged are owed between 12 and 31 months salary arrears. How they manage to go to work every Monday-Friday since Yahaya Bello assumed office as governor is the 8th wonder of the world.
After August, two different monthly allocations have been received by the state government from the federal account but no single worker was paid from these cash inflows! It is worthy to note that no single project has been embarked upon within this time frame, the few ongoing projects are stagnant. Where did these allocations disappeared into? The only project embarked upon within this time frame is the recently conducted All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries.
The huge amount of money expended on APC primaries in Kogi State shows that our government have more interest in building personal political empires that see the state working as it should through well motivated civil servants. Workers are breaking down and are inflicted with sickness like never before. I challenge anyone to visit the public and private hospitals in Kogi state to confirm this. My last visit to a public health centre in the state capital brought me to tears. I was number 136 on the queue that day so I had much time to watch sick people coming in and going out. You will hear patients begging hospital officials that they don’t have money.
With unpaid salaries, workers are not eating fine, have to trek through long distance instead of paying for Okada transport and most aggravating is that workers are indulging in excessive thinking on how to make ends meet, especially paying children school fees.
At the moment, Kogi workers have no defender. Our former defender, Senator Dino Melaye is now an endangered soul as assassins are watching his every move. Our labour leaders are nowhere to be found. Workers are crying silently, praying that we won’t any of our colleagues in these trying times.
...Faculty of Arts and Tedder Hall which was his hall of residence, he was popularly called and hailed as “the Prof”. In his working days, our Royal Majesty made his mark as a news editor at Nigerian Television Authority, NTA and eventually moved to the Nigerian Customs Service where he spent twenty seven years and rose meritoriously to the rank of Deputy Comptroller, before he retired. As a Customs officer he travelled and criss-crossed the Nigerian territory- making friends across ethnic divide and garnering vital information and nuances about the tradition, culture and norms of Nigerian people. Your Excellency, this rich experiential background and his copious knowledge of the diversities of Nigeria’s culture, tradition and norms will now definitely come handy in his new role as the Obaro of Kabba and Chairman of Okun Area Traditional Council. It is thus manifest that Destiny has prepared him for this exalted post. Your Excellency, ladies and gentlemen characterising the personality of our ebullient Royal majesty will succinctly show that he ably has the traits that are congruous and co-terminus with good leadership. Here is a personality that is amiable, a personality that is self effacing, introspective, decisive, altruistic, boisterous, hilarious, and gregarious, focussed, visionary, frank, forthright and a personality that is a bundle of energy. Your Excellency, it is instructive to note that such wholesome leadership traits have been found with the past seven Obaros from his ancestral Ijemu clan. They were: Obaro Okika- 8th Obaro of Kabba Obaro Abajuloju – 14th Obaro of Kabba Obaro Ayomo – 20th Obaro of Kabba Obaro Apepemueje – 28th Obaro of Kabba Obaro Aside – 29th Obaro of Kabba Obaro Olusuyi – 30th Obaro of Kabba Obaro Onike – 31st Obaro of Kabba Your Excellency Sir, HRM Obaro Solomon Dele Owoniyi, Obaro Otitoleke Oweyomade 1 is the 8th Obaro of Kabba from his clan and the 44th in popular, acceptable and authentic Kabba royal History. Your Excellency, as you must have observed from your smattering interaction with the Kabiyesi, his smile can melt the hardest hearts... and so it melted the heart of his beautiful and delectable wife who God has joined together with him and are happily married with three children. The wife is none other than our new Olori; Olori Marie Ige Owoniyi MJF, NLCF, FCA, a consummate chattered Accountant, a lioness of the Corporate world, but a lion of Lion’s Club International, a Human Resources Consultant, and until her recent retirement, the head of Human Resources and Executive Manager Stake-Holders Relations for Nestle Nigeria Plc. Your Excellency, with the hand of destiny clearly and palpably seen in today’s event, with the Kabiyesi's right decision to leave Ile-Ife for Kabba at a tender age, with the powerful and potent royal blessings from HRH Obaro AKA, and with his accumulation of copious knowledge of virtually all parts of this country and a multi talented and formidable wife to support him and with the solid, zealous and enthusiastic support of the vast majority of OWE-Kabba people, we proudly present this child of destiny- HRM OBA SOLOMON DELE OWONIYI, OBARO OTITOLEKE OWEYOMADE 1- THE OBARO OF KABBA AND CHAIRMAN OKUN AREA TRADITIONAL COUNCIL for Your Excellency’s presentation of Staff of Office. Thanks
CITATION BY JOSEPH OJO OSHAGBEMI ON THE OCCASION OF THE PRESENTATION OF STAFF OF OFFICE BY HIS EXCELLENCY ALHAJI YAHAYA BELLO TO HRM OBA SOLOMON DELE OWONIYI,OBARO OTITOLEKE OWEYOMADE 1, THE OBARO OF KABBA AND CHAIRMAN OKUN AREA TRADITIONAL COUNCIL HELD AT ST AUGUSTINE’S COLLEGE PAVILION ON SATURDAY 20TH OCT 2018.
Your Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, Executive Governor of Kogi State, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, kindly permit me to invite out for the purpose of citation HRM Oba Solomon Dele Owoniyi, Otitoleke Oweyomade 1, the Obaro of Kabba and Chairman Okun Area Traditional Council. Your Excellency the unique personality we have before us today had his formative years rooted in the sacred and ancestral Yoruba land of Ile-Ife under the aegis of Oduduwa, the Eponymous father of the Yorubas. Though born at Ile-Ife where his parents sojourned from Kabba, this child of Destiny, joyfully and enthusiastically agreed on going to his very home of origin- Kabba. This was just after two years of primary Education at Ile-Ife. His paternal grandmother then fatefully brought him home to Kabba for the very first time in 1966 to continue his education. It will interest your Excellency to note that his paternal grandmother brought him directly to the Palace of the then Obaro of Kabba - His Royal Highness Oba Daniel Aka- the then incubent Obaro, who was said to have praised the family’s wisdom and vision for their decision and in addition, fervently poured out prayers and blessings on this child of Destiny. Your Excellency, we in Kabba believe that the prayers and blessings of Obaro Daniel AKA on the child have now translated into his ultimate appointment as the Obaro of kabba today and it has pleased God to allow this phenomenon to crystallize under your Excellency’s governorship of Kogi State. Our celebrant today completed his primary education at Egbeda Kabba and decided to proceed to Ijumu Anglican Secondary School Iyara, for his Secondary education. Why Iyara, Ijumu, one may wish to ask? Destiny was already at play, preparing him for a good knowledge of not just Kabba Kingdom, but other Okun communities. As the Chairman of Okun Area Traditional Council, all the vast knowledge he has garnered in Ijumu will definitely be of immense use. His prodigy as an outstanding scholar pointedly manifested itself when just 3 months after completing his secondary education he gained admission through competitive examination to the prestigious, premiere and pre-eminent University of Ibadan for a four year degree course. While he was at the University of Ibadan 1975-1979, it was indeed a period for the sparkling of the youngster’s intellectual effervescence which found expression in his robust intellectual and academic discourses. His vast knowledge of History, Classics and Philosophy fortified him in making mince meat of his argumentative antagonists. He was noted for fiery debates on array of topics: capitalism and socialism, on pre-colonial Africa, the conservative and progressive ideologies etcetera. Your Excellency, permit me to reveal one of his favourite philosophers he liked to quote in his numerous dialectics. He is none other than the radical, schismatic and iconoclastic British Philosopher -Edmond Burke 1729 – 1797. Some of Edmond Burke’s postulations which His Royal Majesty was fond of were; “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” “The hottest fire in hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of moral crisis” It is therefore no wonder that our progressive Royal Majesty has always been a revolutionary and a change agent. He is never equivocating or nebulous but frank, down-to-earth and straightforward. Your Excellency during his very eventful undergraduate days, he was one of the delightful stars who suffused the students’ body with deep fact- backed eloquently delivered sophistry such that in the Faculty of Arts and Tedder Hall which was his hall of residence.....
Kogi State Police Command has confirmed that it sent a detachment of officers to the house of “wanted” Sen. Dino Melaye at Aiyetoro-Gbede in Kogi State on Oct. 11 to effect his arrest. In a statement in Lokoja on Saturday, the command said it took the action in connection with the July 19 shooting of one of its operatives, Sgt. Danjuma Salihu by thugs suspected to be loyal to the senator. The statement signed by the command’s spokesman, DSP William Aya, said that the clarification followed the allegation Melaye made on his twitter page of Oct. 12 that the ADC to Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi led some officers to his house to assassinate him. “The ADC has nothing to do with this case. The Command wish to state unequivocally that the statement is not only a figment of the imagination of Sen. Melaye who has mastered the art of political gimmickry, but totally false, malicious and highly mischievous. “The Commissioner of Police sent Police Officers to his country home for arrest, unfortunately we did not get him at home,” the statement said. It accused Melaye, who is representing Kogi West senatorial district of mobilising thugs to attack its personnel on routine duty along Mopa–Aiyetoro-Gbede on July 19 without any provocation. “The thugs shot and injured Force No. 432913 Sgt. Danjuma Saliu who is currently receiving treatment at Veda Crest Hospital, Abuja,” the statement said. Aya said Melaye was invited officially through letter No. AR:3000/KGS/X/VOL.43/670 dated 23/7/2018 to come and answer the charges on him but refused to show up or give reason for not honoring the invitation. “The Senator is wanted by the Kogi State Police Command for criminal conspiracy, attempted culpable homicide and unlawful possession of firearms,” the statement explained. It appealed to Melaye to report to the command headquarters in Lokoja to answer the allegations against him and stop joining issues with people who have nothing to do with the case at hand.
Aufbauh: Sometimes i wonder what you guys celebrate as good governance. So because he spoke against these people probably when he had a personal issue with them, he's now an example of fearlessness and good governance.
I would have appreciated his resume if he had contributed positively at the hallow chamber or better the lots of his immediate constituents.
I am sure you are not from Kogi state, so do not say what you don't know. Dino has contributed positively at the hallow chamber and that has won him senator of the year back to back. He has also improved the lots of his constituency better than Buhari and yeye bello government.
agabusta: He arranged one unpopular candidate to make noise about contesting and later stepping down for him.
It's all political gimmicks.
If you call hon. Yusuf a two term house of rep member unpopular candidate, then you need to retract you comments. This guy defeated Dino in a pdp primary election back in 2006 and has won the house of rep election back to back.
Hon. tj Yusuf (PDP kabba/bunu/ijumu federal rep. Kogi state) steps down for Sen. Dino melaye(PDP Kogi west)
Kogi West PDP Senate Ticket & Resolution. We wish to formally bring to the public notice that after an extensive deliberation & progressive meeting between Kabba PDP leaders, stakeholders & one of the front line aspirant for the Senate race, Hon T. J Yusuf, we progressively bring to the public notice that Hon Tajudeen Yusuf has agreed to step down for Sen Dino Melaye. The extensive meeting which was few minutes ago conclude, with the understanding of all Kabba PDP leaders concluded with Hon T. J Yusuf who now picked the PDP House of Reps nomination form today & ready to fly and lead the party to victory. We therefore, reiterate our total support for the duo, for their political understanding and maturity.
fergie001: These ones just gathered themselves from Kabba,Iyara,Ekirin-Adde,Mopa-Muro and Yagba and said to themselves...how can we have small cash to help ourselves nah.....and Kolawole said go to Lokoja...that's all... Ask them now,their parents haven't been paid for months... Bello is a disaster
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Please, remove Iyara and Ekinrin-Ade from your list, because Ijumu youths can never be part of these hungry iidiots.
seborrhic: Yet all those commenting,not one bothered checking that this editorial was written in October 2016. Even the op is making it look as if its today's editorial. So much for one being educated.
And to the mod that pushed it to the front page in 2018.
Azam101: Am not a fan of Adeyemi smart but, he would av performed better than the tug called Dino
He had 8yrs already, can you tell us what he has done for Kogi west. Smart spent 8yrs developing kwara state. I am sure he can represent kwarans better.
Perfecttouch: alaye chop knuckle jaree.if you live in ilorin,thwn you would have hrd about this heavy spender deola.the way she spends,u will want to think bill gate is her father.the baba wan even tuen kingston from staircase to lift. this government really dealt with thwir finances. royal shekina, pending kingstone eye sore ,pending even pipeline had to demolish their fence after princess
Just imagine, developing kwara state while representing Kogi west at the senate and some fools still want him back at the senate. Thunder fire him(smart), Deola and yarimo that want him back.
Politics › Endless Wait For Salaries, Kogi Civil Servants Crying In Silence by Simongm(op): 4:04pm On Oct 25, 2018
