Former Commissioner for Finance in Osun State, Dr Wale Bolorunduro, has strongly faulted the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state over what he described as deliberate attempts to mislead the public on the controversial half‑salary policy implemented during the administration of former Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
Bolorunduro, reacting to a press statement credited to an APC chieftain, Kola Olabisi, said efforts to link him to the half‑salary policy were dishonest and intended to divert attention from those who actually designed and implemented what he called “crimes against labour.”
He clarified that he exited the Osun State Government on November 26, 2014, following the dissolution of the first‑term cabinet by Aregbesola, stressing that salaries and pensions were paid in full throughout his tenure.
“Salary and monthly pensions were paid fully till November 2014, when I left office,” Bolorunduro said, adding that his administration also addressed long‑abandoned pension liabilities, including the Abacha pension adjustment arrears of ₦3.6 billion, of which about 75 per cent had been paid before his exit.
He explained that the Labour/Government Committee, which later recommended the so‑called modulated salary structure, was constituted in July 2015 several months after he had left government and that his name was deliberately excluded from the committee.
“I was reliably informed that I was excluded because I would not agree to salary cuts,” he stated, urging the media to verify who chaired the committee and who signed the communiqué that introduced the modulated salary policy.
Bolorunduro further argued that the refusal to promote civil servants and the blocking of annual step increments during that period were themselves forms of half‑salary policies, insisting that APC officials must account for these actions instead of shifting blame.
He also questioned the justification for the continuation of half salaries between 2015 and 2018, despite the state receiving about ₦60 billion in Paris Club refunds between February 2017 and June 2018.
“A ₦60 billion windfall to a state whose annual FAAC revenue was about ₦48 billion should have resolved salary issues,” he said, describing the persistence of half salaries as a product of misplaced priorities, lack of conscience and poor governance.
Bolorunduro alleged that those who served in Aregbesola’s second‑term administration, and later succeeded him, benefitted significantly from the system they now seek to defend, warning that records of how the Paris Club refunds were spent could be made public if necessary.
Commending the current administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke, Bolorunduro praised the prioritisation of salary and pension payments, describing it as a welcome departure from past practices.
“I am happy to be associated with this administration. My relationship with the Adeleke family dates back many years, and the current government is doing well,” he concluded.
He advised APC leaders in Osun to stop what he termed “name‑calling and historical revisionism” and instead accept responsibility for policies they conceived, recommended and implemented.
