First Lady, Aisha Buhari has pleaded with the people of Kogi State to forgive Governor Yahaya Bello over his inability to pay salaries.
Aisha Buhari told the residents of the state that Governor Bello was unable to pay salaries for some time because of the verification exercise that was organized for civil servants in the state.
She asked the people of Kogi to forgive him if any of them was negatively affected, noting that since the verification exercise ended, all civil servants on the government’s payroll had been receiving regular salary.
Mrs. Buhari urged them to forget what they once suffered, adding that they will not be disappointed if they vote for the incumbent governor for second term in office on Saturday.
The first lady said this during the grand finale of the All Progressives Congress (APC) rally in Lokoja on Thursday, shortly after Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State 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.”
Watch the video below:
Addressing the crowd during the Campaign, Governor El-Rufai knelt down before the people of Kogi State, asking them to forgive Governor Bello for any wrong he had done over the past three years of his administration.
The Kaduna governor noted that Bello was young when he became Kogi governor and had made many mistakes, adding that he had learned from such mistakes and since retraced his steps.