The Governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo has expressed a deep understanding of the challenges faced by civil servants, having been one himself, and stressed that paying workers’ salaries is a top priority. He noted that financial management is crucial and that salary payments must be handled before any other expenditures are considered.
He proudly stated that Kogi State has achieved a 90% success rate in paying workers’ salaries and is on track to reach 100% shortly. Addressing misconceptions, he clarified that the state has already implemented the 30,000 minimum wage, and he encouraged verification of this fact through union records. Furthermore, he highlighted the consistent and full allocation of funds to local governments under former Governor Yahaya Bello’s administration, a standard that continues to be upheld.
He said in an interview with TVC From 17:04, ”I’m still wearing my cap as auditor general for local government because our people need to be served. I was once a civil servant, I know what it means for somebody to work hard for 30 days. And at the end of the day still have nothing to show for it. And so we look at our finances and we make salary payment as priorities for our workers. As the money is coming, we have to take care of it before going into any other expenditure.
We are at 90% in payment of workers salary and we are going to get to the 100% level very soon. And I want to correct one impression, Kogi state has since implemented the 30,000 minimum wage. The records are there and you can contact our unions to verify it yourself. I really don’t respond to noisemakers on social media because it’s not part of the mandate given to me by the people of Kogi state. My own duty is to come and consolidate on the achievement of the previous administrations. The payment of allocation of funds to the local government from the Yahaya Bello’s administration have always been 100% and we are still maintaining that standard.”….Seë_Morë