There was pandemonium yesterday in Kogi State, following the alleged retrenchment of more than 20,000 council workers across the 21 local government areas in the state.
The affected workers as at the time of filing this report, had embarked in protest, barricading major roads in the state capital with burn fire, shouting “Yahaya Bello Ole.”
The state government had in February this year constituted screening committees to verify bonafide members of state on the pay roll of the state government, Local Government Councils and the teaching service.
The screening committee, which commenced its exercise in March, was said to have submitted it report to Governor Yahaya Bello, on Saturday, which consequently recommended the retrenchment of thousands of workers across the 21 LGAs in the state.
The President of the state chapter of the National Union of local government Employee (NULGE), Comrade Tom Abutu, condemned and rejected the report of the screening exercise, arguing that the report was a total deviation from the initial agreement between the labour union and the state government.
Abutu, however, in a telephone chat said: “The retrenchment of workers was never part of the agreement we entered into with the government.
So, the so-called retrenchment exercise is hereby rejected and declared inconsequential.” Meanwhile, reports from some local government councils across the state indicated that in Lokoja, the state capital, alone more than half of the entire workforce sacked, according to the report.
Of the over 800 workers in Lokoja Local Government Area, the appointment of over 400 workers was said to also have been terminated.
