Benue Workers Threaten Strike Over Salary Delay

Civil servants in Benue State at the weekend threatened to embark on strike should Governor Samuel Ortom delayed a minute in the payment of their accumulated salaries using the Budget Support Funds he received from the Federal Government.

The state government is owing its workers, including primary school teachers, between four to six months salaries.

Governor Ortom had disclosed that the state government received N8.6 billion last month from the federation account to pay state and local government workers.

The amount, he said, was the highest so far received by the state since he assumed office last year. The governor spoke last week during a radio programme that the N8.6 billion, in addition to the internally generated revenue, which was over N500 million, was enough to clear salaries for at least three months.

Some of the aggrieved workers, who spoke with New Telegraph on the issue, but who did not want his name in print, expressed regrets at the insensitive posture of the government to the plight of civil servants and sued for a change of heart in the interest of the state.