By Amos Aar
STAFF of the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC), Makurdi have cried out that their salaries have not been paid by the Benue State Government.
Two staff of the commission who confided this in our correspondent on Tuesday attributed the non-payment of the salaries to an alleged garnishee of the LGSC accounts.
According to reliable sources who pleaded anonymity, the account has been garnished by a court order following the failure of the Benue State Government to pay a contractor from Bauchi State who dragged the commission to court.
“The case will come up tomorrow in Sokoto State. But for now, nothing is working in this place because of lack of funds occasioned by the garnishee order. Even our salaries have not been paid,” one of the sources revealed.
Asked to give details of the contractor and when exactly the LGSC’s accounts were garnished, the source said he did not know much about the contractor because “he [contractor] is from Bauchi State”.
When approached on phone on Tuesday evening to find out why the accounts were garnished and how the development was affecting the LGSC, Chairman of the commission, Mr James Ivever, who did not deny knowledge of the garnishee order, promised to contact his accountant and get back to the reporter, a promise he did not keep.
“The person that require that information, what is the reason for the enquiry? Let me get in touch with my accountant, I will get back to you”, Ivever promised.
Efforts to reach Benue State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order, Fidelis Mynim, Esq., were unsuccessful as his mobile line was engaged. He however did not respond to a text message sent to him.
Vanguard newspaper had on March 22, 2024 quoted the Special Adviser to Governor Hyacinth Alia on Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dr Denis Akura, lamenting over the garnishee order of the bank accounts of the 23 local government areas of the state.
