Osun State Govt. Pays Nov, Dec salary arrears

 Osun State government has announced a fifty per cent cut in salaries and allowances of all political office holders in the state even as it commenced process of paying the salaries of civil servants in the state.

In a statement by Semiu Okanlawon Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Office of the Governor, the government said it is paying the balance of November and and full December salary arrears owed its workers.

The statement further read that the government, while saddened and troubled by the turn of events in the financial status of the state and the country at large, is taking responsibility for the unfortunate problem and is prepared to meet the challenge head-on.

“Since the inception of this government, we have treated the resources under our control with the utmost respect and disbursed them diligently for the greater benefits of our people. Our mandate had always been to use our God-given wealth to bridge the gap between the downtrodden and the government.

“It is very unfortunate that we find ourselves unable to pay our workers their due wages for several months when, in the past, we stood for paying on or before the 25th of each month. We thank the ever understanding workers of our state for their patience as we go through this most trying time.

Aregbosola

“However, we are glad to announce that we have commenced the process of paying for the balance of November and full December salary arrears for all our workers across the state and the process should be concluded by Friday, July 3rd, 2015. We are able to do this because our partners and creditors have faith in us and we have proven to be responsible and trustworthy.

“We must emphasise at this point: We are not out of the woods yet! Our finances took a dive because we were hit by the shock of the sudden and massive drop in global oil prices while Nigeria also had a Federal Government that failed in its primary responsibility to secure our people and our commonwealth.

“Therefore, we hereby announce a 50 per cent cut to the salaries and allowances of all political office holders and appointees. This is one of the many steps we are taking to ensure the sustenance of our collective. We are also calling on our people to join us and do their part in carrying the weight of change.


“As we proceed on this journey of self-discovery, we hope to put more and more of our people to work by attracting productive investments to our state. The better part of our resources will go to funding capital projects that will create employment and unlock wealth. Osun State will rise from this situation and prosper like never before,” it added.

Osun civil societies demand Justice Folahanmi’s probe
Meantime, a coalition of civil society groups in Osun state has petitioned the National Judicial Council NJC, demanding for investigation of Justice Oloyede Folahanmi over her demand for the impeachment of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

Justice Folahanmi had sent a 36 pages petition to the Osun state House of Assembly, accusing Aregbesola of mismanagement of the state resources.

The Osun Civil Societies Coalition OCSC, in a four-page letter sent to the Secretary of the NJC, yesterday, said that Justice Folahanmi’s action was strange and unexpected of a judicial officer who knows the nitty-gritty of law.

Besides, the OCSC also called on the Osun State House of Assembly to thoroughly investigate all the allegations raised by Justice Folahanmi in her petition, just as he urged the house not to hesitate to impeach Aregbesola if truly he had committed impeachable offences as alleged.

Source: Vanguard