By Ogechi Adaeze
The Ebonyi State chapters of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), have lamented non-payment of the 2024 Christmas bonus promised by Governor Francis Nwifuru to workers to some of its members.
It should be recalled that Gov. Nwifuru announced N150,000 as Christmas bonus to state workers, but the local government chairmen settled to pay N75,000 to its workers.
Teachers of primary schools and junior secondary schools are paid by the local governments.
However, seven months after Christmas, some local government workers and teachers are yet to be paid.
NUT Ebonyi Chairman, Mr Francis Ekechi who spoke in an interview, said the union is pursing the payment.
Ekechi, who said that the authorities are aware of the development, said the various branch chairmen of NUT are being directed to bring the authentic data of teachers involved.
He stressed that the union is doing all within its powers to ensure that the affected teachers are paid.
A staff of one of the Development Centres of Onicha Local Government Area, yet to receive the bonus, said 16 workers, including himself is yet to receive the bonus.
The staff who spoke on the condition of anonymity, stress the importance of data of those owed.
‘ Government deals with data, is important that the number of those owed is correctly and adequately computed.’
Mr Stanley Ewah, President of Ebonyi NULGE, who earlier spoke on the issue, lamented that some local government workers were yet to receive the Christmas largesse almost seven months after it was announced and paid to workers in the state.
Ewah said that fighting for the benefits and welfare of employees in the local government system was a sacred task he owed to the workers.
He explained that the state workers were paid N150,000 while staff of local government system got N75,000.
He regretted that the bonus was paid to only those captured during a screening exercise, while those who missed the verification exercise were left unpaid.
Ewah said that the affected staff had been verified and captured, adding that efforts were being made to pay the remaining staff.
“When the governor in 2024 announced the payment of N150,000 Christmas bonus to state workers, NULGE met with him and made a demand, N75,000 was later approved for the local government employees.
“But it is sad that some council employees are yet to receive this bonus.
“I have gone round the 13 LGAs and what we found was that before the payment, there was a verification exercise; so, the workers who were not captured during the exercise are the ones yet to receive the bonus.
“But we are not insensitive to the plights of our members; I have gone round the entire LGAs; I have gotten the figures of those that have not been paid and I am working with the Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) to resolve the issue.
“We have achieved 95 per cent success for the bonus payment to our members and we believe that between this June and July that the rest of the unpaid staff will have gotten their own.”
