The Kogi State Polytechnic Lokoja chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has embarked on an indefinite strike beginning from today over non-payment of salaries.
Kogi Polytechnic ASUP chairman, Boluromi Samuel Sunday, said yesterday that ASUP was compelled to call for strike as a last resort to compel the government to heed to their demand over arrears of salaries.
He said although the 21-day ultimatum earlier given to government to negotiate was not over, the need for his members to collect their salaries could not be swept under the carpet.
“We were surprised when July salaries were being paid to our colleagues in other tertiary institutions across the state and our members were being left out. When we enquired, we were told that the state had no money to pay us, even when all the civil servants in the state have collected theirs,” he said.
However, the Kogi State government blamed the delay on the payment of the July salary on the discovery of N145 million fraud in the salary voucher of the polytechnic.
The Director -General, Kogi State Bureau of Information and Grassroots Mobilisation, Alhaji Abdulmalik Abdulkareem, said this in a statement made available to newsmen in Lokoja on Sunday.
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