Failure to pay workers’ wages ungodly, Adeleke tells Aregbesola

#NaijaLiveTv
……WORKERS SHOULD SHOW MORE UNDERSTANDING ― APC

THE standard bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming September 22 gubernatorial poll in Osun, Senator Ademola Adeleke, on Wednesday told Governor Rauf Aregbesola that failure of his administration to pay workers their salaries was an ungodly act that negates dictates the Holy Bible and Quran.

Apparently reacting to the ongoing 3-day warning strike action embarked by the state workforce to demand payment of 34 months salary arrears owed some categories of civil servants, Adeleke “wondered why the state government would neglect such a fundamental obligation of government for so long without any justifiable reason”.

This was contained in a press statement endorsed by the head of media and public communication of Senator Ademola Adeleke campaign organisation, Hon Bamidele Salam, which was forwarded to the Nigerian Tribune in Osogbo, Osun State capital.

According to the statement, “the civil service is the engine room for meticulous implementation of programmes and policies of any serious government and that the institution must be respected and highly motivated.”

While lauding the labour unions for their endurance and resort to constitutional means of agitating for their rights, “Senator Adeleke promised that the PDP government will revert all anti-workers policies of the Aregbesola administration when voted into office”, just as he restated “his commitment to the welfare of all and sundry.”

Meanwhile, the chairman of the PDP in Osun, Hon Soji Adagunodo has called on Aregbesola to order the immediate payment of backlog of workers salaries and allowances which necessitated the current industrial action.

In a separate press release forwarded to our correspondent, he posited that “to make matters worse, Ogbeni Aregbesola continue to make senior citizens who are pensioners object of ridicule in the society by refusing to pay their meagre pensions and gratuities.”

It reads thus, “rather than attend to the germane issues raised by the labour unions while the ultimatum lasted, Ogbeni Aregbesola was busy with desperate political campaigns to install his surrogate as the next governor

However, while reacting to the development, the director of publicity, research and strategy of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun, Barrister Kunle Oyatomi stated that “the APC empathise with the workers and we appeal to them to take things easy. They have waited till now for what they believe was their own. We agree with that and we also agree with their perseverance.”

ALSO READ: Canned sardine: NAFDAC cautions public against consumption of 2 brands

He continued, “we appreciate their patience, but they should wait a little bit as their needs would be met. Nobody is an enemy of the workers in the APC, including the governor. No one prompted the governor before he began to pay salary on the 25th of every month for almost three years and we all knew what happened. We keep on telling the story of how oil revenue failed us in Osun State as it failed other states.”

“We are not exclusive of whatever happens to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We are sorry that this has to happen during Aregbesola’s regime, but we are not unaware that the governor has promised that he would pay every kobo he owes the workers before he leaves office. We would not want to see them (workers) as political pawns. This is because we are having an election in less than a month. They should show understanding as they have been doing before now”, Oyatomi pleaded

Comments

comments