By Okhide Em’ya David
Staff and Authorities of Orhionmwon Local Government Council, on Wednesday, in the ancient City of Benin clashed over unpaid salaries allegedly running into 9 months.
The Council Staff embarked on a mild protest to register their plights in the minds of Edo people whom they passionately begged to prevail on the Chairman Hon. Silvester Okoro to pay them about 9 months salaries and other sundry allowances.
The Chairman has replied that though he was owing the staff, the period is not up to 9 months.
A spokesperson for the aggrieved Orhionmwon Local Government staff, Mr. Lawson Imade revealed that life had become unbearable for them since the Council Authorities began staccato payment of salaries and eventual total stop.
He said all efforts to persuade the Council Chairman and his Cabinet to pay salaries and other allowances had fallen on deaf ears, despite huge allocations from the Federation accounts, internally generated revenues, etc.
They passionately begged the Governor of the State Mr. Godwin Obaseki as well as Speaker, Edo state House of Assembly Rt Hon. Marcus Onobun to come to their rescue by putting pressure on the Orhionmwon Council Authorities to pay them.
He regretted that some of their colleagues “have become homeless, others are bed ridden owing to lack of funds to offset their medical bills.”
The Spokesperson for the staff observed that talking about resumption of academic exercises by their children in schools as resumption dates draw near makes them shiver as they were not sure of where the funds will come from to pay fees, books uniforms and others .
Meanwhile, Orhiomwon Local Government Area, Chirman Hon. Silvester Okoro has said that the Local Government under his watch is not owing staff salaries.
Mr. Okoro told Alltimepost in Benin City, in reaction to Wednesday’s protest that protesters “were sponsored by some people in the council to discredit his government and make it look as if his administration has achieved nothing.”
When Alltimepost asked him if a hungry man needs to be promoted to protest, he said “those protesting cannot even tell you why they are protesting because some of them were asked to come out and protest without knowing the reason.”
“We are paying old and present salaries. I met 18 months unpaid salary arrears and now we have paid an appreciable level of the old salary.”
He said that the issue of salary was not just peculiar to Orhiomwon Local Government as a council, but cuts across the 18 local government areas of the state.
“Teachers’ salaries are much and they carry more of our allocation. By the time we get allocation from the state, it will not be enough because the teachers’ salary is much.
“The governor, in his wisdom brought a measure of paying teachers since it is a unified work in the state and we all agree to it because that’s the only way the problem of owing teachers can be solved.
“I will not be so ungrateful to God while giving allocation, I will go and embezzle it. They voted for me, but even after paying the salary, I have done a lot of projects for the 12 wards in the community because I want to bring development to my local government,” he added.
The Council boss promised to always do his best for the good of the people of the area and bring smiles to their faces.
