Kogi Teachers Protest Unpaid Salaries

Teachers under the aegis of Basic Education Staff (BES) in Kogi State have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in their present predicament over unpaid salaries and allowance by the State government.

The teachers made the appeal while protesting what they described as maltreatment of the highest order which has culminated in both physical, mental and emotional trauma, occasioned by their aggravating condition of service in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State.

The protesting teachers gathered at the Holy Trinity Primary School in their numbers, carrying placards with different inscriptions in their hand to press home there demand.

It is also recorded that this is not the first time that the protesting teachers are protesting unpaid salaries, as they were prevented from meeting with the Governor.

Addressing reporters, the Chairman of the BES in Kogi State, Comrade Ohino Baiye, pointed out some alleged atrocities the board had committed to divert their allowances and also underpay them.

Comrade Baiye said they were more resolute in the struggle for emancipation and to oppose and resist the payment of salaries by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) due to the trauma they have experienced in the hands of the present board.

He stated that payment should be handed over to Local Government Education Authorities for accountability.

Comrade Baiye also said that their association became necessary because the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) was no longer fighting their cause, but was rather using them to trade.

On his part, the SUBEB Chairman said the board had paid salaries to Basic Education teachers in the state, with the fund available to them.