First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has said Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State was unable to pay salaries because of the verification exercise that was organised for civil servants in the state.
Aisha said since the verification exercise ended, all civil servants on the government’s payroll had been receiving regular salary.
The President’s wife, therefore, asked the people of the state to forgive Bello if any of them was negatively affected, urging them to forget what they once suffered.
Aisha said this at the All Progressives Congress rally in Lokoja yesterday, shortly after Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, had knelt down before the crowd, asking them to forgive their governor.
Addressing the crowd, Mrs. Buhari said, “Let me refer back to Kaduna State governor’s speech where he had to kneel and say the people should forgive and forget.
“Also, my husband used to emphasise on salaries. It took a while before the Kogi salaries could be settled after a long time of verification.
“But this time, vote for him for continuity of payment of salary on time.”
Mrs. Buhari subsequently invited the governor to the podium, saying, “I want Yahaya Bello to talk to you about timely payment of salary.”
Addressing the crowd, the governor said, “We have been paying on time. “The civil servants can attest to that.
“Your Excellency, you directed, you supported and we cleared the salary arrears and we shall continue to pay on time.”
