By Obansa Ibrahim, Lokoja
The Kogi State Enterprise Development Agency (KEDA) has declared that all it’s twenty six adhoc staff have been paid their entitlements and officially disengaged them, following the expiration of the world bank programme (NG-CARES).
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of KEDA, Muhammed Kadiri Okeji who disclosed this to newsmen on Friday in Lokoja , said when he took over the mantle of leadership of the agency in March , 2024 he inherited complaints of unpaid salaries to the adhoc staff.
According to him, he quickly drew the attention of the state government and other critical stakeholders to the complaints, noting that Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo in his usual magnanimity ordered that the 26 adhoc staff of the agency be paid their backlog of salaries.
The Managing Director, KEDA further explained that the Governor’s directive was carried out without delay where the 15 months unpaid salaries the adhoc staff claimed were paid to them with additional two months salaries in lieu of notice of disengagement.
He added that after all the payments was made to them the agency served them disengagement letter since KEDA does not have any programme that required their service again.
Okeji wondered why the adhoc staff were still making noise over their disengagement when through out 2023 they remained idle doing nothing for the agency, but were paid salaries of 15 months.
“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 who further revealed that it was in the plans of the agency to empowered the laid off adhoc staff through the federal government Small and Medium Enterprise, urged them to desist from tarnishing the good image of the agency.