Kogi civil servants, pensioners facing untold hardship ― Ang Bishop

THE Bishop of Diocese of Lokoja of the Church of Nigeria, (Anglican Communion), Most Rev’d Emmanuel Egbunu, on Sunday said civil servants and pensioners in Kogi State were going through untold hardship following non-payment of salary and pension.

He, however, appealed to the state government to urgently look into the matter before the situation gets out of hand.

Egbunu, who made the appeal during 2019 Synod Delegate which ended on Sunday, noted that many parents could no longer pay their children school fees and other family obligations because of the backlog of unpaid salary.

The clergyman charged the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, to do the needful in the interest of peace and welfare of the civil servants.

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According to him “Both pensioners and civil servants should be given a sense of self-worth again. May God help those in power to accomplish this.”

The Bishop pointed out that at the beginning of the staff screening exercise to weed out ghost workers, people applauded the concept and the need to reform the civil service, cautioning the government not to make the screening look like a mirage.

While emphasising on the need for government to return missionary schools to their proprietors for appropriate rehabilitation, the Bishop said as stakeholders, the church was ready to offer their services for the progress of the State.

“Our experiences have been far from pleasant, and even our magnanimity has been abused. We earnestly hope this issue will be revisited for responsible resolution,” he said

Speaking on the forthcoming governorship election in the state Egbunu urged voters in Kogi State to look beyond narrow interests, appealing to politicians to embrace decency and shun violence.

“The corporate interest of Kogi State is bigger than any individual or group interest. What we have seen so far in recent elections call for earnest prayers,” he stated.

On the security front, the man of God commanded the state government for the great efforts put in place to reduce the cases of kidnapping to the barest minimum in the State.

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