By Boluwaji Obahopo

LOKOJA—Civil servants in Kogi State, yesterday, shut their offices and boycotted work to protest alleged non-release of the N50.8 billion bailout funds approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to offset backlog of salaries.

Wada-and-Audu

Most of the ministries visited within Lokoja, the state capital, were under lock as workers stayed off work in compliance with a directive from organized labour, while some marched round the state capital to register their displeasure on the non-release of the intervention fund, carrying placards.

At a joint briefing after the protest, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC; Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, and Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees NULGE, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to re-direct the CBN governor to release the funds without further delay.

Mr. Onuh Edoka of NLC said: “Public service workers in the state boycotted work to register their grievances to President Buhari over non-release of funds by the CBN on account of political wrangling by politicians in the state.

“Many workers in the state have died of hunger and treatable ailments due to non-payment of several months of salaries, while the N50.8 billion bailout fund approved for us by the Federal Government lie fallow at Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for over two months.”

Edoka denounced rumours that the organized labour were being sponsored to demand the release of the bailout funds.

Also speaking, State Chairman of NUT, Mr. Abdullahi Suleiman, lamen-ted that the hope of basic education staff in the state was being dashed, going by the present development and also called on President Buhari to intervene in the interest of Kogi workers.

State President of NULGE, Mr. Tom Abutu, rained curses on politicians allegedly behind the non-release of the funds for payment of workers and expressed concerns that local govern-ment workers in the state were being owed upward of 18 months salaries.