Over 8,000 LG staff to get promotion in Benue – Ortom

Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue said on Tuesday that over 8,000 local government staff in the state would be promoted.

Ortom disclosed this while receiving a “Life Patron of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE)” award in Makurdi.

He said a directive had been issued to the Local Government Service Commission to organise trainings monthly for the staff to keep them updated on modern trends.

The governor enjoined the commission to ensure that seniority was respected in the promotion to avoid any bad blood in the service.

He noted that his administration was seriously looking into the issue of salary arrears owed the workers.

Ortom added that government had already tackled the problem of pension with the domestication of the PENCON law.

He said that the award given to him had placed a burden on him to continue to be transparent as well as redouble efforts at developing the local government areas.

Earlier, the National President of NULGE, Mr Ahmed Labbo, while presenting the award, commended Ortom for supporting full autonomy for local governments across the country.

Labbo said Ortom gave administrative, political and financial autonomy to the local governments in the state when other governors were feeding fat on councils’ allocations.

He further commended the governor for making NULGE a permanent member of the Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) in the state.

“This is unlike in other states where the operation of JAAC is shrouded in secrecy as if they harboured skeletons in their cupboards.

“Your Excellency demonstrated uncommon transparency and accountability by laying the accounts of JAAC and its operation bare to the workers,” he said.

The president commended the governor for the industrial harmony being enjoyed in the local government system of the state.

He urged him to hastened the process of addressing the plight of local government workers whose appointments were wrongfully terminated by the previous administration.

Labbo also called for the payment of the backlog of arrears of salaries, promotion, pensions and gratuities of the members.