By Amos Aar
PUSHED by hunger and prevailing economic hardship, casual staff of Government House have again cried out to Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, that they have not been paid their monthly stipend of N20,000 since August this year.
They staff say this has subjected them to hunger and generalised existential hardship in addition to difficulties of transiting to work in the face of high cost of transport following the increase in the price of petrol.
Not less than five of the casual employees of the Government House who spoke with National Record this week, under strict condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from Government House authorities, lamented that the N20,000 stipend has not been paid since August 2024, thereby visiting on them and their families inescapable misery.
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“What we are collecting is already too meager, considering the high cost of living in the country these days. But even that one, they don’t want to be giving us. How can we cope?
“The government had promised to convert us to substantive status in line with the new law introduced by our governor that casual staff should not exceed 5 five years in the status but that has not been actualised for almost a year now.
“Some of us have been casual staff up to ten years here. We thought that if converted, our living condition would be better,” one of the staff lamented on Friday.
When contacted via phone call and sms for enquiries on the matter, Government House Permanent Secretary, Mr Bartholomew Geraga, did not respond.
It could be recalled that National Record had published the cries of the casual staff over their unpaid five months’ stipend before they were paid.
