—Drum support for ex-naval chief
A group of civil servants under the aegis of Concerned Kogi Workers Forum, has warned the All Progressives Congress (APC) against giving its ticket to the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, ahead of the November governorship election.
The spokesman of the forum, Mallam Hassan Abdul, in a statement made available to newsmen, appealed to the national secretariat of the APC not to elongate the suffering of the people by conceding the ticket to the governor.
According to him, foisting the governor on the workers “would amount to further shortening our life span”.
The workers, who threw their weight behind the governorship bid of a former chief of naval staff, Vice Admiral Jibrin Usman, said “as workers who bear the brunt of Gov. Bello’s misrule, another opportunity given to him by the APC would mean reducing our lifespan”
The workers disclosed that the forum is made up of workers who were arbitrarily sacked, some who have also been cleared by the screening committees set up by Bello, yet have not been paid for about 30 months, adding that another opportunity for the APC to present him for another term would mean the party does not mind their wellness and survival.
The concerned workers lamented that never have Kogi state civil servants experience hardship as they are presently experiencing as many of them have died untimely, with many unable to meet family obligations.
The workers clarified that they did not have grouse with President Mohammadu Buhari and the APC, having restated their plights and sufferings caused by Gov. Bello’s insensitivity to payment of salaries and workers welfare, fielding him against the collective wish of the concerned workers would mean the APC and the presidency dis not care about their welfare.
The workers, however, said their support for naval chief was because of his achievements in the provision of infrastructure and his attention to workers welfare, saying if elected he would make salaries and welfare of workers priority.
They explained that Usman attracted the Naval Command Secondary School Okura, the Naval Base in Idah and Lokoja, to the state, adding that the move had shown his interest in the state.
The workers described Usman as matured, experienced and have the qualities needed to bail the state from its current mess, enjoining the APC to field him as their candidate.
They described the present administration in the state as not friendly to workers, lamenting that after several months of their been cleared by the screening committee, still suffer unpaid salaries with no explanation from the government.
It would be recalled that the governor had last week promised that his second term in office would be better than the first term.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting of the APC attended by two other northern governors, Bello assured the people of the state, including the civil servants of a better deal if reelected for another four years in office.
