By Ismail Azeez
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Osun State Council, has clarified the circumstances surrounding recent state government disbursements, revealing that organized labor originally demanded a ₦20,000 palliative for workers and pensioners, not the ₦10,000 disbursed.
The clarification comes in the wake of allegations from the All Progressives Congress (APC) suggesting that the recent financial releases by Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration constituted an attempt at vote-buying ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
Speaking during a mini-congress of organized labor in Osogbo, Osun NLC Chairman Comrade Christopher Arapasopo refuted the vote-buying claims, explaining that the disbursements were the direct result of formal negotiations initiated by union leaders to cushion the impact of economic hardship.
According to Arapasopo, organized labor formally wrote to Governor Adeleke on April 8, requesting a monthly palliative of ₦20,000 for each worker and pensioner in the state.
Following subsequent negotiations in early July, unions agreed to a reduced figure of ₦10,000 per individual due to the state’s fiscal limitations, along with the release of outstanding June and July payments.
Arapasopo addressed recent political controversy, including claims surrounding Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) inquiries into state finances, emphasizing that the labor movement requested the funds to support struggling civil servants and retirees rather than to advance political agendas.
The NLC leadership called on the President to intervene and advise political actors against politicizing routine labor negotiations or stoking tension in the state.
Echoing these sentiments, the State Chairman of the Joint Negotiation Council, Comrade Olamilekan Adediran, urged civil servants, pensioners, and residents to exercise their franchise peacefully on election day, emphasizing that political office should be pursued through a free, fair, and non-violent democratic process.