Gov Aregbesola Says He Has Done Well Despite Owing Seven Months’ Salaries
Despite his failure to pay state workers for the past
seven months, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state has said that
his administration has performed excellently well since his assumption
of office for a second term in August 2014, Daily Post reports.
The
governor in a statement issued in Osogbo, on Tuesday, June 9, by his
media aide, Semiu Okanlawon, during a courtesy visit by the state’s
Action Strategy and Development Group, said his government has performed
creditably well despite the financial shortage it is experiencing.
“Despite the financial shortage, even the most virulent critics of this government cannot deny that the administration has performed creditably well.
“This government built roads, schools, supplied students with Opon Imo (Tablets of Knowledge), distributed uniforms to all public students in the state, created welfare programmes for the old and vulnerable people as well as supporting farmers.
“No state has done what Osun did in the area of security, which today has totally checked crimes and other anti-social activities in the state. Huge amount of money was committed to purchasing armoured personnel carrier and ambulances which are strategically located in the state and responding to distress calls round the clock.
“If all the programmes, with huge cost involved, are factored into the accruable revenue of the state, it will be crystal clear why the state is where it is today,” he said.
The governor alleged that the numerous oil thefts under the PDP, in which the nation was losing 400, 000 barrels per day, caused a drastic reduction in the oil price in the international market which snowballed into economic disaster and strain for state governments and workers in the country.
READ ALSO:Senator Saraki 'Elected' Senate President While APC Senators Were Meeting With Buhari
Aregbesola revealed that the state received N5bn as its monthly allocation in February 2013, but N540m was paid to the state government in April 2015.
He added: “As we are trying to find solution to these challenges, we must not also run away from what brought us to this situation.
“For those who think this is an opportunity to pillory us in this economic condition, I pity them. Only God does not fail. We shall overcome; we shall recover from this challenge. I sympathise and feel for the workers. I appeal to them to bear with us as we work assiduously to end this problem. I assure them that the period of agony will soon be over.
“It is disheartening for people to work and such work fails to translate into wages. It is a harrowing experience for both workers and the government.”
Aregbesola has come in for a lot of criticism from within and outside the state for the way he has managed the state resources.
On Tuesday, the governor dared the Osun state chapter of the Social Democratic Party to go ahead with its threats to publish his assets.
The SDP had said private investigations indicated that the governor had acquired illegal wealth in the state in the past four years.
To ease the troubles of unpaid workers, Olumuyiwa Emmanuel, the state pastor of the living faith church, the winners’ chapel, has appealed to members of the church to bring money and foodstuff for the workers.
Two weeks ago, the state’s labour unions declared a total strike to press home their demand for the payment of their six-month salaries which has now turned seven in June.
The strike began on Tuesday, May 26, after the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum given to the state government.
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Governor Rauf Aregbesola
“Despite the financial shortage, even the most virulent critics of this government cannot deny that the administration has performed creditably well.
“This government built roads, schools, supplied students with Opon Imo (Tablets of Knowledge), distributed uniforms to all public students in the state, created welfare programmes for the old and vulnerable people as well as supporting farmers.
“No state has done what Osun did in the area of security, which today has totally checked crimes and other anti-social activities in the state. Huge amount of money was committed to purchasing armoured personnel carrier and ambulances which are strategically located in the state and responding to distress calls round the clock.
“If all the programmes, with huge cost involved, are factored into the accruable revenue of the state, it will be crystal clear why the state is where it is today,” he said.
The governor alleged that the numerous oil thefts under the PDP, in which the nation was losing 400, 000 barrels per day, caused a drastic reduction in the oil price in the international market which snowballed into economic disaster and strain for state governments and workers in the country.
READ ALSO:Senator Saraki 'Elected' Senate President While APC Senators Were Meeting With Buhari
Aregbesola revealed that the state received N5bn as its monthly allocation in February 2013, but N540m was paid to the state government in April 2015.
He added: “As we are trying to find solution to these challenges, we must not also run away from what brought us to this situation.
“For those who think this is an opportunity to pillory us in this economic condition, I pity them. Only God does not fail. We shall overcome; we shall recover from this challenge. I sympathise and feel for the workers. I appeal to them to bear with us as we work assiduously to end this problem. I assure them that the period of agony will soon be over.
“It is disheartening for people to work and such work fails to translate into wages. It is a harrowing experience for both workers and the government.”
Aregbesola has come in for a lot of criticism from within and outside the state for the way he has managed the state resources.
On Tuesday, the governor dared the Osun state chapter of the Social Democratic Party to go ahead with its threats to publish his assets.
The SDP had said private investigations indicated that the governor had acquired illegal wealth in the state in the past four years.
To ease the troubles of unpaid workers, Olumuyiwa Emmanuel, the state pastor of the living faith church, the winners’ chapel, has appealed to members of the church to bring money and foodstuff for the workers.
Two weeks ago, the state’s labour unions declared a total strike to press home their demand for the payment of their six-month salaries which has now turned seven in June.
The strike began on Tuesday, May 26, after the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum given to the state government.
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