Over 100 non-indigenous school teachers sacked by Benue government cry out

Over 100 non-indigenous school teachers, retrenched by the Benue state government in 2005/6 have sent a Save Our Souls message to Governor Samuel Ortom demanding the payment of their emoluments and entitlements. The aggrieved teachers who spoke to Vanguard yesterday through Mesdames Chioma Okafor, Mba Felicia, Nwankwo Irene and Juliana Eze lamented the refusal of the state government to obey a subsisting High Court order issued in 2008 directing the payment of their emoluments after being disengaged from the state’s service.

The teachers who were mostly women, regretted that the long delay in paying them after being laid off from the service of the state had led to the death of some of the effected persons who they claimed died in penury. They also decried the failure of their legal counsel to diligently seek available means to ensure that the 2008 judgment of the Makurdi High Court was implemented to the latter.
“When we were redeployed by the state government in 2005/6, we approached the courts and at the end, the court directed the state government to pay us our entitlements. “Moves were actually made to effect the decision of the court, but government complained that the sum involved as presented by our counsel was too much.
“We expected that an amicable resolution of the matter would be reached but till date we have been left in the cold, and we must confess that we are not happy with the way our counsel and the state have gone about this issue. “In as much as we harbour no grudge against anyone, we demand that the 2008 judgement of the the high court be respected by the state government in order to save us from further torture and death of our colleagues.