The Bayelsa State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ndiomu George-Diepre, has decried the plight of government workers.
Regretting the nation’s dwindling economic fortunes, the labour leader urged Governor Seriake Dickson to pay workers to enable them meet their personal and family obligations.
He said there were about 45,000 civil servants in the state’s employ.
George-Diepre said: “The NLC, as usual, is still on the struggle. Right now, we are on air, calling on the government to settle the unpaid salaries.
“While we understand the economic situation in the country and how it also affects the states, we are still asking that the government should pay outstanding salaries of workers, particularly the pensioners and, of course, the local government workers.
“There are also a lot of scams and ghost workers suspected in those areas. The governor is saying he wants to do verification; it is after that he promises pay. But Labour is saying the workers should be paid because they have suffered for a long time.”
But an official in the Governor’s Office said Bayelsa was not the only state owing salaries.
He said there were other states owing workers between seven and eight months.
The official, who spoke in confidence, added: “So, why is Bayelsa State so peculiar that reporters want to do a report on it?
“The Federal Government is owing. You heard the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), saying the Federal Government is owing N6 billion every month. Is that not scandalous for a nation like Nigeria? Is it not more newsworthy than workers resorting to begging? Check the facts: we are owing just three months.”