A total of N14.2bn has been paid by the government of
the state of Osun to clear all salary arrears. This was revealed by the
governor who confirmed the said amount was paid out by his government in less
than two weeks before the end of December 2016.
Aregbesola stated this when the State
government opened the year with supplications as the Governor led Muslim and
Christian faithful at an interdenominational thanksgiving session at the
Government Secretariat, Osogbo.
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| Governor Aregbesola |
Aregbesola, who laced his speech with songs of
praises to God in Islamic and Christian ways, said with what befell the state
before the close of 2015, it was gratifying that the state bounced back in what
can now be felt as relief from the hardship of last year.
He said the ability of his government to pay
workers’ salaries from September, October, November and December in less than a
record two week period was a huge relief.
The governor said it was in September 2014
that he had to call on workers to decide whether they wanted a staff reduction
or payment of salaries according to available resources when the impact of the
economic hardship in the country began to biter harder.
He said in July 2015, the new Federal
Government which had been sworn in May, 2015, listened to some of the solutions
proffered to the national revenue crisis.
Aregbesola said when the state got N34.9bn
bailout loan in 2015, there were controversies on how to disburse the funds
when some people insisted that the whole funds should be spent all at once.
“But I knew that
with the magnitude of the economic crisis facing Nigeria, it would have been
suicidal to expend the whole bailout loan at once without saving a portion of
it which eventually bailed us out till around February this year,” Aregbesola said.
The governor recalled that this was what made
necessary, the constitution of the state's Revenue Apportionment Committee
headed by labour veteran Comrade Hassan Sunmonu which he said made it possible
for the state to pay salaries till February of 2016.
He said the arrival of the Paris Club
deductions refunds which made N11.7bn available to the state has brought some
relief noting that the state would however need to intensify its efforts
towards self-sustenance.
“We are grateful
that our hardships are getting over giving us indications that the new year
would be better.” he added.
The governor while expressing appreciation to
workers who showed understanding, appealed to those who have not shown signs of
understanding the trends.
He added, “LAUTECH lecturers have insisted they would not cooperate with the
government despite their knowledge of the economic conditions we face. We
appeal to them to accept our fate at the moment for the sake of the students’
future.”
He expressed optimism that by June this year,
there are signs that the recession would come to an end.
While appealing to all stakeholders to look
inward, Aregbesola charged traditional rulers promote agriculture in their
respective domain just as he appealed to them to engage in vigorous campaigns
for payment of taxes.
“We want to engage
massively in agriculture. We want to aggressively grow cassava, maize,
plantain, rice, soya beans and the existing cocoa which our people are already
growing. It is now clear that those who are looking for free things will wait
forever. It's certain that oil price can no longer return to its old rates and
free money won't come again. If we don't want to continue to suffer this lack,
farming is the only venture we must embark on.
He assured that the government would give
financial aides to those interested in farming.
The governor also hinted that by 1st of
February, this year, his government would enforce the use of the standard
measures and scales for all commercial transactions as part of efforts to make
commerce attractive in Osun.
“Whoever fails to use Osunwon Omoluabi will
face the consequences.”
The Head of Service Mr. Sunday Owoeye, in his
speech saluted the courage and commitment of the Osun workforce.
Owoeye, who said revenue generation should be
a major focus of the workers in the new year, said the workers have shown
commitment.
"I wish to
acknowledge the sacrifice and endurance of Public Servants in the State in
these trying times we are passing through. We have proved to the whole world
our resilience in the face of unanticipated challenges such that when the going
gets tough, the tough gets going!
"Whenever the
history of the State will be written in future and the achievements of this
sparkling Aregbesola Administration are enumerated, the indomitable and
altruistic spirit with which the Public Servants weather the current storms
shall definitely occupy a conspicuous space!
"I wish to
charge every public servant to continue to support this administration in its
drive towards self-sufficiency by being more proactive in revenue generation.
The largest room in the world is the room for improvement and the road to
success is always under construction ad infinitum!"
In his sermon, Dr. Isiaka Lawal of the College of Education
Ilesa, advised civil servants to abide by the rules of their engagements noting
that leakages of officially classified documents, no matter for what reason,
contradicts civil service rules.
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Source: Naij.com
