Edo councillors protest denied 5-month salary for ‘not defecting to PDP’

The allegations are false and should be disregarded, the state says

Councillors elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress in Edo state staged a protest to demand unpaid salaries going back five months they said was denied them because they did not defect to PDP.

They carried banners that said they were “being victimised for not decamping to PDP” and marched through the streets of Benin City.

“We want the world to know that as elected councillors in 16 out of the 18 local governments over 90 of us have not been paid salaries since May 2020,” said Emwinghare Osabuohien, on behalf of the councillors.

“Other allowances and entitlements have also been stopped on the directive of the governor. When we challenged our chairmen, they told us to go and ask the governor.

“Our only offence is refusing to decamp with the governor whom we feel didn’t performed well to warrant us decamping him to the PDP,”

He said “After he was disqualified from contesting the governorship election on the platform of the APC, and decamped to PDP, he asked all of us to follow him but we refused.

“Since then, he ordered our salary to be stopped while our colleagues who joined him are receiving salary and other entitlements,”

The councillors however, called on President Muhammadu Buhari, National Assembly and the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, and other well-meaning individuals to intervene and rescue them from the hands of the governor.

Responding, governor Obaseki through his spokesperson, Crusoe Osagie denied owing anyone salaries and emoluments.

He said the state government has never reneged on its obligations to pay workers and other cadre of staff their due wages and salaries.

“Edo state government remains one of the few states in Nigeria that has been faithful with its salary obligations to workers.

“So, the claims being made by some persons over owed salaries are baseless. the allegation that these persons are being owed over political differences is even more ridiculous. The allegations are false and should be disregarded.”