Don’t Divert Bailout Again, Pay Workers’ Salaries, SDP Tells Aregbesola

‎ By Ibraheem Alli

The Osun State chapter of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, has again asked the state Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola to pay the outstanding salaries of the state’s workers from the bailout he has just received from the Federal Government without further delay.

SDP, in a press statement signed be its Director, Media and Publicity, Mr Taofik Alabi on Sunday, warned Aregbesola against diverting the new bailout.

The party claimed that the Federal Government has released a sum of N17bn fresh bailout to the state government.

According to the party, the state Governor has been making move to lure the labour union leaders in the state to signing a document for the forfeiture of the outstanding salaries of the state workers.

The party further alleged that the governor has concluded plan to sack some workers whose appointment has not been regularized due to some discrepancies found in their certificates as revealed by the workers audit carried out by the state government recently.

It recalled that sometime towards the end of 2015, the federal government released a sum of N34.9 billion to Osun State government as bailout to settle the unpaid salaries of the state workers.

The statement reads in part: “The state labour went into an agreement with the state government, spelling out how the bailouts will the applied.

“Not only that the substantial part of the MoU was jettisoned by the governor, he also went ahead completely without further discussions with the state labour to implement payment of half salaries to the workers from grade level 8 upward, while those on 13 upward salaries were fractioned at the governor’s volition.

“As it stands now, it seems the whole document earlier planed by the state governor to be signed by the labour leaders was in tandem with portraying seriousness and gallantry by the labour leaders in the state while the original motive of forfeiting the arrears of over a year has already been concluded by the labour leaders who have been variously probably bribed and bought.

“The workers are now at the mercy of the political oppositions in the state, various rights organizations, national leadership of the NLC, TUC and JNC and Transparency International to help them out of the woods in receiving their legitimate earnings.

“We request that the EFCC and other anti corruption agencies investigate the accounts owned by the state governor and his relatives just like they have done to the Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, who they perceived to have embezzled the state funds that led to his inability to pay workers their fair earnings.

“The same thing is in Osun State and there should not be a sacred cow in the matters like this just as the workers of Osun State are saying enough is enough”.