Workers in Benue State heaved a sigh of relief after receiving one month’s salary from the state government.
Some of the workers who spoke to our correspondent in Makurdi, the state capital, said they started receiving alerts on Sunday.
Oraduen, a worker under the state government’s employ, said it felt so good to get paid after working without pay for the past seven months.
“I feel so happy with the payment of this one month’s salary. I got an alert at about 8 pm on Sunday. And my spirit has come alive again. The situation was so bad before now that I had to park my car and trek.”
“Now, I can put my car to use; send some money to my sick mother, and buy food for my household. I’m not the only one excited, everyone in my office feels good too and those who haven’t been coming to work are at their duty post this morning. We hope to get another three months of salary before the end of the week,” Oraduen who didn’t want his first name mentioned, said.
Also, another worker, Fidelis, said he got a one-month alert of payment of his salary on Monday morning after being owed for eight months.
Fidelis, alongside another worker, Daniel, expressed delight that the one-month salary paid to them would cushion the effect of hardship which their families have been through in the past months of unpaid salaries.
The state’s Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Terungwa Igbe, also confirmed that the workers have been paid one month’s salary.
