• Insists gov spent just N4.5bn on wages, pensions
Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo
An Osun State-based civil society organisation, the Civil
Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS), has dismissed the claims by the state Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, who claimed that his government spent N14.2billon for the payment of modulated salaries and pensions of workers and retirees alike with the balance of three months leave bonus to the affected workers and pensioners in the state in less than two weeks, particularly, last quarter of December, 2016.
The civil group insisted that the state government just spent only
N4.5billion on modulated pensions and salaries with the leave bonus to
the affected retirees and workers, describing the N14.2billion figures
rolled out last Tuesday by the governor during the interdenominational
thanksgiving service as mere propaganda to cover up an alleged illegal
diversion of over N7billion of N11.744bilion out of N84billion Paris Club funds accrued to the state by the federal government.
It stated that it was surprised that the state government under
Aregbesola’s watch could lie before the men of God during the
thanksgiving service for the commencement official governance of the state in 2017, saying that this singular action of the governor had told the people of the state what they should be expecting in 2017 as his style of governance would be laced with propaganda and lies.
The group added that despite the various funds received in the last six
months, the state government under Aregbesola was still owing the workers and retirees about 8 to 10 months arrears of salaries and pensions with gratuities respectively.
Responding to the Aregbesola’s thanksgiving assertion in a statement signed by the group’s Chairman, Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman, made available to journalists yesterday, it disclosed that the governor lacked moral and financial justification to spend N14.2billion on payment of four months half salaries when the state government would use only N2.3 billion for the monthly payment of full salaries and pensions.
The group explained that Aregbesola has been working contrary to the biblical and quranic injunctions
of Deuteronomy chapter 24 verse 14 and Suratul Nahli 16 verses 90 -91, Suratul Sariyathi 51 verses 8-11 and Suratul Maidah 5 verses 51-52 and as well as the constitutional provisions of Sections 14,15,16,17, and 210 of the 1999 Constitution on the plight of the state workforce and retirees.
The statement urged the workers and retirees and by extension,
the people of Osun State, not to be deceived by the misleading
figures of the state government to pay modulated half salaries of four
months with N14.2billion, after having the ecological funds, Budget
Support funds, local government funds, N3.5billion bailout funds
balance, state allocations accrued to the state from the Federation
Account and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the state treasury
in the last six months.
It therefore insisted that the state government has enough funds to
clear all the eight to 10 months outstanding salaries and pensions arrears without further delay, challenging the government to come out from its shell to disclose the actual amount of the monthly payment of full salaries and pensions in the state after the conduct of the 2015
screening exercise, adding that the government should also publish how
every fund accrued to the state government from the Federation Account was being spent in order to make the government accountable to the people as demanded by the ethos of democracy and international best practices.
