● Says no N40B is allocated to Governor’s office in 2025 budget
The recent statement credited to a faceless labour group on state pension and salary payments to Osun workers should be ignored as the ranting of an anti-labour clique proxying for the opposition All Progressive Congress (APC).
Spokesperson to Governor Ademola Adeleke, Mallam Olawale Rasheed said the official organs of labour movement in Osun state are the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, the two bodies that have variously awarded medals of honour and appreciation to the Governor for his outstanding actions on welfare, pension payments and overall care for Osun workers.
In several statements, the NLC and the TUC have described Governor Adeleke as the best to ever happen to the labour movement in Osun state, a position deeply supported by Osun workers and pensioners.
The non-existing Osun Workers Union (OWU) is just a wing of the state All Progressive Congress, a party that is desperately battling to whitewash its terrible anti-labour records while in the leadership of Osun state.
The common refrain today among Osun workers is their readiness to resist any ploy to take them back to Egypt. They recount the refusal of the past government to pay their pensions and the half salary debt, stunted promotion policy, non-payment of promotion benefits, the bastardisation of the service, the relegation of public service in governance through external consultancy and the overall wickedness of previous governments to state workers.
Osun workers embraced the present administration for many reasons namely; the adoption of workers’ welfare as number one item on governance agenda, the payment of half salary debt which the APC refused to pay, the payment of almost N50 billion pension debt within two years compared to N45 billion for the 12 years of APC government, payment of promotion arrears, regular promotion of staff and overall delivery of good governance to the good people of Osun state among others.
The Spokesperson denied the fake news that N41 billion was allocated to the governor’s office in the 2025 budget, asking that the APC and its proxy agents should get educated that more than 11 government agencies are under the office of the governor with their separate projects and programmes.
On the pension payment, the administration has within two years paid almost N50 billion in various pension debt while a new set of bonds for contributory pensioners will soon be released.
Aside from the pension debt already paid and the half salary being liquidated, the administration is set to release another multi billion naira worth of pension bond to contributory pensioners even as it judiciously spread state resources on all sectors for balanced growth and development.
The coordinator of contributory pensioners, Rasheed Ayinde has indeed come out to defend the administration’s pension records, submitting that the Adeleke government has done commendably well in view of competing demands for attention from other sectors of the state economy.
The fake labour group actually misfired on its accusation on vehicle purchase, when in actual fact, its sponsor the APC and its officials, illegally carted away government vehicles when it was defeated in 2022, leaving the government paralyzed.
If the mass car theft of 2022 had not occurred, the present government would not have had cause to buy a few cars it purchased at extremely low cost to keep the wheel of government running.
We assured the state APC that no amount of fake budget data from faceless labour groups can change its evil records of anti-labour practices while in government.
“We must tell the state APC and its non-existing workers’ union. You failed and maltreated workers when you were in charge. Osun workers are having the best of time under Governor Ademola Adeleke”, the Governor’s Spokesperson was quoted as saying.
