Hundreds of local government council workers in Edo State on Tuesday took to the streets of Benin, the state capital, protesting the non- payment of their emoluments.
Dressed in black, the protesters, who are under the umbrella of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, also had placards with various inscriptions expressing their grievances.
Human and vehicular movements were hampered as the protest caused traffic gridlocks on major roads in the city.
It was gathered that only three out of 18 local government councils in the state, namely, Esan South East, Owan East and Estako East, have paid salaries of their workers up to date.
Speaking to journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ Press Center in Benin, President of the state NULGE, Edward Ilenikhena, said they decided to take to the streets after several negotiations with government officials failed.
He decried payment of salaries to teachers and other non-teaching staff of the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, from local councils’ monthly allocations.
“We are here to register our neglect. We went on strike and they called us trouble makers. We will do mass protest every Tuesday and senatorial protest on Thursdays,” Ilenikhena threatened.
The state commissioner for establishment and special duties, Didi Adodo, attributed the non-payment of salaries to a short-fall in allocation from the federation account.
Adodo absolved the state government of blame in the issue noting that the state government was not responsible for paying local government salaries.