Aregbesola Uses Bailout Funds to Pay Contractors, Shuns Workers Salary Arrears –Osun PDP

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News From The State Sunday, September 13th, 2015

Osun state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has condemned last week’s payment of N20 billion by Governor Rauf Aregbesola from the N35billion bailout funds he got, to a road contractor (Slava Yediteppe) when the state workforce are being owed 9 months outstanding salary.

The party in a statement issued by Prince Diran Odeyemi, it’s Director Media and Strategy, accused Governor Aregbesola of misplacing his priority by paying the company handling the Osogbo Ring Road project when civil servants in the state are wallowing in abject poverty due to unpaid salaries.

“We have it on good authority that the payment was effected last week Thursday and we have noticed that the contractor has returned to site with its men and equipments within 24 hours as requested by the governor.”

The party said the N35 billion bailout is lodged in two banks- WEMA and Zenith- adding that while the funds in one of the banks remained fixed as earlier alleged by the PDP, the part lodged in the other bank has been recalled to pay this company with very strong links to a presidency figure.

“Much as we believe the road project is ideal, we wonder why an inflated road contract awarded at N1 billion per kilometre has suddenly become the priority of Gov Aregbesola at this particular period of nine months unpaid salary if not because of some under current deals to siphon funds and shortchange the people of Osun state.

“This perhaps is the reason why the governor said he would only pay half of March salary for workers at a meeting he held with them last week, ” the PDP said.

The party therefore called on President Mohammadu Buhari to wade into the looming crisis in the state if governor Aregbesola continues to deny Osun workers of their right to salary having received the bail out fund from CBN three weeks ago even without meeting the condition set for him to submit the resolution of the State Executive Council because he does not have an exco ten months into his second term.

“These hardship are too much for the people of Osun and we are therefore appealing to traditional rulers and religious bodies in the state to wade in before it escalates and become unbearable because an hungry person is unarguably an angry man,” the PDP said.