Ortom declares state of emergency on salaries

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State yesterday announced a state of emergency on salary payment. Ortom who also set up a committee to look into the matter made the declaration after meeting with Labour leaders in Makurdi.

The governor said the declaration became necessary in order to give topmost priority to the issue including alternative arrangement for loans to cater for workers.

He has delegated his deputy, Benson Abounu, an engineer, to head the committee with the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mr. Matthew Uyina, as Secretary.

Other members of the committee are the State Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), Comrade Godwin Anya, the President of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, (NULGE), Comrade Terungwa Igbe among other labour leaders.

Ortom further directed the committee in its terms of reference to prune the state wage bill, fishout ghost workers and perpetrators of fraud with regard to the issue at stake.

The NLC chairman while reacting to questions from newsmen, noted that workers would have been owed five months while local government staff nine months by the end of April.