Date: 2016-12-19

Former councillors in the state under the aegis of ex-councillors forum will be meeting today with the Chief of Staff, Yusuf Babatunde Abdulwahab, in order to negotiate the payment of their backlog of salaries from the N5bn Paris Club refund received recently.

This is coming on the heels of agitations from the immediate past 193 councillors across the 16 local governments in the state over their long overdue salaries. In a telephone conversation with the chairman of the forum yesterday, Opeyemi Adeojo lamented to our reporter how members with health challenges have lost their lives as they could not afford hospital bills.

He said the government owed eight months salaries, N1.16million as furniture allowance and gratuities.

Adeojo however urged Governor Ahmed to fulfil his promise by paying up the backlogs from the Paris Club refund, adding that he should at least pay some months from to alleviate the condition of many who are desperately in need of the money.

"For now, no payment has been made into our accounts, the ex-councillors executives were with the Chief of Staff on Friday, there is another meeting with him tomorrow (today) and that is when we will be able to determine our fate. We've earlier met him to express our plights to the governor so that he can pay us from the 5billion refund. After all, they've said the money will be used principally to clear backlogs"

"Many of our members have died since there is no money for them to address their health challenges; we are even planning to take pictures of some of them who are currently on hospital beds to demand for special and urgent assistance," Adeojo added.

According to him, non-payment of their salaries has led to the death of their members in Isin, Offa and Ifelodun while another from Ilorin South is currently critically ill, calling for urgent monetary attention from the government.