The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Kogi State Enterprise Development Agency (KEDA), Muhammed Kadiri Okeji, has confirmed that all 26 former ad-hoc staff have been paid their entitlements and officially disengaged.
The 26 ad-hoc staff had previously claimed they were owed salary arrears.
However, Okeji clarified in an interview with newsmen on Friday in Lokoja that when he took over leadership of the agency in March 2024, he inherited these complaints.
Upon learning of the issue, Okeji promptly notified the state government and other key stakeholders. Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, demonstrating his usual magnanimity, ordered that the backlog of salaries be settled.
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Okeji explained that the governor’s directive was swiftly implemented, resulting in the payment of 15 months’ unpaid salaries, along with an additional two months’ salary in lieu of notice.
Following these payments, the agency issued disengagement letters to the staff, as KEDA no longer had any programs requiring their services.
Okeji questioned why the former ad-hoc staff continued to complain about their disengagement, particularly since they had remained idle throughout 2023 but were still compensated for 15 months.
He noted, “The 26 adhoc staff have worked from 2022 to early 2023 and their engagement terminated in 2023, but the agency did not issued them disengagement letter because it was expected that as the first phase of the NG – CARES ended , the second phase will commence immediately , but such expectation eluded the agency.
“Without delay the agency paid them the 15 months unpaid salaries they claimed despite available evidences showing that they did not work up to that months.
Again we paid them two months salaries in lieu of notice of disengagement when ordinarily, it was suppose to be one month.
“Having done all of that , we issued them letter of disengagement to forestall reoccurrence of such incident, but to our surprise they were still making noise around why the agency disengage them when they have no work to do for KEDA” the MD explained.
The Managing Director also revealed plans to empower the laid-off ad-hoc staff through the federal government’s Small and Medium Enterprise program. He urged them to avoid tarnishing the agency’s reputation.
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE