40 senators donate 1,260 bags of rice to Kogi workers – Dino Melaye

Dino Melaye

A few days after a director in the Kogi State civil service reportedly killed himself over unpaid emolument, 40 Nigerian senators have donated at least 1,260 bags of rice to civil servants in Kogi State, a lawmaker said.

Kogi is one of the many states currently owing workers’ salaries and entitlements.

The senators reportedly made the donation at the instance of one of their colleagues, Dino Melaye, Kogi-APC.

Earlier at the plenary, Mr. Melaye had called the attention of the Senate to the suffering of civil servants in Kogi State.

“Today, in my state we live in perilous time and vicissitude. The social media and newspapers have been awash few days with unfortunate incident of a civil servant who committed suicide upon receiving information that his wife gave birth to triplets”, he said.

“He is (was) being owed 11 months’ salary. Another civil servant was seen crying because he could not provide N3000 for drugs and the child died.

“Their salaries must be paid; pensioners must be paid. How many more people will commit suicide before Yahaya Bello pays salaries? We don’t want to see more deaths in Kogi state.”

Addressing journalists at the end of the plenary, Mr. Melaye disclosed that 40 senators had donated 1,260 bags of rice and other relief materials to ease the sufferings of the workers.

He said that Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, donated 100 bags of rice to Kogi workers while the Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, donated 30 bags of rice.

Other senators, he added, donated between 10 to 70 bags.

He added that Philip Aduda donated 10 bags of fertiliser while other lawmakers would donate more materials within the week.

Mr. Melaye, while calling on good spirited Nigerians to also donate relief materials to Kogi State workers, said, these donations would help ameliorate the sufferings of the workers in “this satanic manifestation of Yahaya Bello’s administration.”

He said the Nigerian Labour Congress in Kogi state will coordinate the distribution of the relief materials.

The Kogi State Government had earlier absolved itself of any blame in  the death of the director, Edward Soje, saying he was involved in age falsification, which made him unable to receive his salary early.