No fewer than 500 workers in the Kwara state public service have reportedly died due to the non-payment of their salaries and entitlements by the local and state governments in the past four months in the state.

The workers of the 16 local government councils in the state and those of the state tertiary institutions at the three state colleges of education in Oro, Ilorin and Lafiagi and the State College of Islamic and Legal Studies, (CAILS), Ilorin, had been on strike since November last year due to non-payment of over five months.

Also last week, teachers in primary and junior secondary schools in the state commenced their indefinite strike over the non-payment of four months of salaries while the teachers of senior secondary schools in the state have joined the strike in solidarity with their colleagues in both primary and junior secondary schools.

The state branch of Association of Local Government Chairmen of Nigeria (ALGON), Alhaji Lattef Okandeji has appealed to the striking teachers to be patient with them as all efforts have been put on ground to look for alternative windows to pay the backlog of unpaid salaries of teachers in the state.