Osun Govt inherited unpaid allowances for judicial officials from previous APC administrations — Spokesperson
By Ismail Azeez, Osogbo
Spokesperson to the Osun State Governor, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, has said Adeleke administration’s inherited non-payment of allowances owed judicial officials from the two previous governments of the All Progressive Congress.
In a statement signed by him on Thursday, and made available to journalists, said that the threat of legal action by an Ibadan based legal practitioner, Mutalubi Ojo Adebayo affirmed that the allowances were owed by Aregbesola/Oyetola administration.
The statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to a threat of legal action by an Ibadan based legal practitioner, Mutalubi Ojo Adebayo, to sue the Osun state government for non-payment of allowances owed judicial officials by the previous administrations.
“The action does not only amount to meddlesomeness but a misrepresentation and misinterpretation of employment relationship between employees and the employer.
“As much as we will not wish to attribute the threat of legal action to politicization of service matters, we must remind the public that the lawyer expressly affirmed that the allowances were owed by Aregbesola/Oyetola administration. We can add for him that the Adeleke administration inherited from the two previous governments of the All Progressive Congress a whopping salary, pension and employment related debt to the tune of 100 billion naira. This is outside another state debt of over N400 billion.
“The Adeleke administration has however commenced payment of such salary and pension debt amidst cash crunch and equally competing demands for state expenditure. The public is aware that Governor Ademola Adeleke has deployed strategic ingenuity and uncommon resource management options to administer the state, delivering on various sectoral targets and also attending to the welfare of workers.
“It is on record that the Adeleke administration ensures payment of salary as at when due and is also working to pay up inherited employment related debt from the previous administrations. Many would wonder why the Ibadan lawyer did not sue those who created the mess while they were in office. We are even shocked that the barrister in question chooses to attack a Governor who is doing all within his powers to correct fundamental errors of the last 12 years and set the state on the path of sustainable growth.
“We must also put on record that Osun judicial workers have their unions and it is not in doubt that the union leadership is capable and able to advance the interest of their members. The Unions are also not unmindful of the inherited rot and ongoing efforts of the government to holistically address their issues.
“We are constrained to therefore urge the lawyer to avoid distractive and interloping activism. As we believe he is not politically recruited, he should adopt other dignifying route rather than usurping labour dispute questions that only the unions and their employers can undertake.
“As we assume the lawyer has good intentions, he can rework his threat into an appeal to the State Governor to continue his ongoing phased payment of outstanding liabilities inherited from the previous administrations. He may further commend the Governor for acting for all Osun people by devising strategies to complete abandon projects and gradual payments of outstanding liabilities,” the statement added.
