By Boluwaji Obahopo

LOKOJA—Organised Labour in Kogi State has drawn a battle line with the state government due to their salary arrears, and had vowed to continue with their strike action until their demands are met.

*Gov. Wada

This was made known during a joint press conference organised by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC and Joint Negotiating Council, JNC.

They said their decision to continue with the strike action stemmed from their meeting with the state governor, Capt. Idris Wada, last week Thursday.

The state NLC Chairman, Onuh Edoka, who spoke on behalf of organised labour said the state government have been secretive about the financial standing of the state and had all along deceived the union on their three months salary arrears and other entitlements.

“The leadership of organised labour in the state met with Governor Idris Wada in the afternoon of Thursday 31st December, 2015. The government position at the meeting shows that all hopes of paying October 2015 salary as promised by the governor were finally dashed.

“Governor Wada claimed that the December 2015 allocation that came into the state was ‘hijacked’ by banks to settle all outstanding facilities earlier granted the state; therefore there is no hope of any payment of salaries until the next administration takes over governance.

“He (Wada) also claimed that no bank is ready to offer him facilities to augment what is available now. From record made available to labour only monthly statutory allocation, SRA, was included in the document.”

The labour union asked the state government to explain to the state, what happened to the Value Added Tax, VAT and the non-oil differential allocations for October to December, 2015.

The labour union decried the nine months salaries owed primary school teachers and the 25 months percentage salaries arrears owed local government workers; described Wada administration as the worst in the history of the state.

“From the above, it becomes crystal clear that the earlier propaganda of the state government that labour insisted on the payment of two months salaries at once was all an attempt to cover up government unwillingness to pay.

“Workers are hereby directed to remain peaceful, resolute and be supportive. In the battles ahead. More importantly, workers are to be law abiding as the strike still continues indefinitely”.