The Kogi State Government has reaffirmed commitment to clear the backlog salaries of all the genuine workers and pensioners in the state by 20 December.
The Director General, Research and Development, Kogi State, Mr Moses Okafor, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja on Wednesday.
Moses, who is also the Official Speech-Writer of the Governor told NAN that the screening exercise which hitherto had been causing delay in the timely payment of salaries was completed last month.
“Though the screening exercise was painful for a while but it has finally been completed. I can assure you that Gov. Yahaya Bello is committed to making good his promises to pay all genuine workers and pensioners in the state on or before Dec. 20.
“Any genuine civil servant and pensioner who has not been paid would be paid including all the outstanding allowances and remuneration of political appointees who are already thanking the governor for the gesture.
“The ghost workers have been weeded out and the governor is committed to his word that no genuine civil servant would be adversely affected, that is why adequate time was given to workers to come and defend themselves,” Okafor said.
He noted that some genuine workers had started receiving payment alert for their salary arrears, adding that all the Local government Administrators have been directed by the governor to do the same.
NAN reports that Governor Yahaya Bello met four months unpaid salaries when he assumed office and what is left at the moment is three months arrears.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
