Kogi teachers’ salaries: Governor Ododo yet to get go ahead from Bello to pay salary arrears – Sources

Kogi State Governor, Ododo Ahmed Usman is yet to get a go ahead from the former governor of Kogi State and his political godfather, Yahaya Bello to pay school teachers salary arrears.

CAPITAL POST learnt in Lokoja on Monday that teachers were last paid their percentage salaries few days to the Governorship election which took place on 11th November, 2023.

A level 13 Secondary School teacher who spoke with our correspondent on telephone from Isanlu on Kogi West Senatorial District lamented that teachers were last paid in November, 2023.

He said, the new governor who was inaugurated on January 27 has collected one month Federal allocation, but they were not paid salaries, particularly their arrears.

The teacher who craved anonymity regretted that nothing was going to change from the past administration of Yahaya Bello who he said, paid zero attention to the welfare of school teachers throughout his administration.

“We knew when allocation came and we waited to be paid, unfortunately no single teacher has been paid by the new administration of Ododo”, he said.

A principal in one of schools in Lokoja, who pleaded anonymity confirmed in a conversation with CAPITAL POST that teachers got salaries last in November last year.

He however, said, administrative staff of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology were paid without their academic staff counterparts.

He said, three months salaries are outstanding.

According to him, the governor might be implementing his agreement with the former governor, explaining that Bello has not given the go-ahead to Ododo to pay teachers based on their priority which was beat known to two of them.

“You know, Bello and Ododo have agreement which the new governor must implement. They have their scale of priority and as I speak and from what I gathered, Ododo has not been given the go-ahead to pay us yet.

“We hope as the second allocation from Abuja get to him, he might consider teachers, but for now, we were last paid in November.”

Meanwhile, CAPITAL POST reported that the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Hon. Wemi Jones on Monday paid unscheduled visit to some schools in Kogi East Senatorial District.

The visit, it was gathered, was at the backdrop of reports that teachers in Kogi school are abandoning their duty posts to eke out a living elsewhere, having not been paid for three months.

The angry education Commissioner warned that principals and teacher who abandon duty posts would be sanctioned, if caught.