EXCLUSIVE: How 6 Borno Civil Servants Died of Cardiac Arrest over Non-Payment of Salary
POLITICS DIGEST – A civil servant in Borno State, Mall. Garba Mohammed, who hails from Shani Local Government Area has decried the underpayment and non-payment of workers by the State Government.
According to him, six of his colleagues have died of cardiac arrest due to ‘needless’ and ‘unending’ verification exercises conducted by the Borno State Government.
In a chat with POLITICS DIGEST, Mohammed, disclosed that the children of his late colleagues have become orphans, as a result of their breadwinners’ unfortunate demise.
“One of the people who died was working for nearly 20 years. He has 15 children and was battling with life, but only to be told that he has a problem after the screening. Before you know it, he suffered from a heart attack and died,” he narrated.
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Querying why the administration of Governor Babagana Umara Zulum will allow Borno workers to suffer ‘deliberately’, he narrated his own ordeal as a staff in the State civil service.
Mohammed said, “I started working in 2007 as a level 3 staff. I obtained a diploma in Land and Survey at Ramat Polytechnic, in Maiduguri.
“I got promoted to level 6 but N9,000 has been my salary since I became a civil servant, and the wage of my new level after promotion, hasn’t been implemented yet.
“It is just now that about 300 staff I know are getting paid after they last received their salaries, two years ago.
“There was a time the LGAs had a problem with the payment system and they resorted to table payments”.
According to him, there was a time they wanted to stage a peaceful protest regarding their plights, but the Emir of Shani, Alh. Mohammed Nasir Mailafiya, placated them, urging them to exercise patience and wait for a feedback from the State Government.
He however, called on the Borno State Government to address the lingering challenges workers in the State are having with its recurring verification exercises.
