Taraba street sweepers lament delayed stipend payment

 

From Godwin Agia, Jalingo

Members of Operation Keep Taraba Clean lamented on Friday that the State government, after seven months of nonpayment, has begun paying them as "spirit directed." 

The workers described the government's actions as insensitive given the current economic situation in the country.

Some of the workers who spoke to our  correspondent narrated that, given the current hardships faced by people, it was inconceivable that their allowances could be delayed longer than necessary.

When contacted, workers at various major streets in Jalingo metropolis, such as Mile-Six Bypass Road, Barde Way, ATC/Road-Block, and Hanmaruwa Way, disclosed that some of them received one month's allowance, while others received two, three, or four months' worth.

During our correspondent's tour, Miss Elizabeth Samson, Mrs. Talatu Usman, Mariam Musa, Joy Atta, and Mercy John all said that the situation was making life difficult for them as the prices of foodstuffs kept increasing.

Confirming the situation, the State Coordinator of Operation Keep Taraba Clean, Hon. Iliya Kefas, explained that over 2,000 workers have not been paid for one year, while other workers were owed seven months of allowances.

He noted with dismay that he had not received any running costs or his allowances for five and seven months. However, he stressed that the State Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, was aware of the development and was working around the clock to resolve the issue.

When asked why workers received different allowances, he referred our correspondent to the office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), noting that the SSG was in a better position to answer the questions.

According to him, "Even the SSG owes me running costs of five months and allowances for seven months. So, I don't know the reason why they have not been paying. Not only me, over 2,000 workers have not received allowances for even one month, and the people are still working.

"Our Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, is aware of this case and directed the SSG. He told him that he is working urgently on it, but I don't know why we have not seen any payments yet," he said.