“Osun: Aregbesola Plots to Reduce Workers’ Salary”

The party in a statement issued in Osogbo on Wednesday by its spokesperson, Prince Diran Odeyemi, said memo notifying civil servants of a new pay regime that will see them forfeiting all allowances their colleagues in other states are enjoying, have already been circulated.

“We as a party have been consistent in our believe that Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has lost focus as he is totally confused of what is next to move the state forward.”

Prince Odeyemi said in less than three years, the administration of Mr. Rauf Aregbesola has tinkered with the setup of agencies overseeing primary and secondary education in the state, saying such constant reversal of policies not only suggest lack of focus, but also indicate crass incompetence.

The PDP said the memo informing workers of the forfeiture of their allowances was signed by the Permanent Secretary in the office of the head of service, Mr Sunday Olajide, stated that the allowances include 27.5% peculiar allowance for teachers, 25%-35% for other categories of workers.

It also said the new policy will see workers with degrees in education being transferred to relevant education offices, while education parastatals and agencies like TEPO, are to be reviewed.

Under the new arrangement, there will be Teachers Establishment Office and Education Assessment Office while Elementary and Middle Schools will be fully under SUBEB and receive their salaries from local government.

Also in the memo, the PDP said Aregbesola’ administration is introducing Electronic Fingerprint Capturing Machines, which will be deployed into government offices and public schools to ensure workers are punctual, regular at their duty post.

Recalling how on assuming mantle of leadership Aregbedola introduced Teachers Establishment and Pension Office, TEPO, to replace Teaching Service Commission,TESCOM, he inherited from both Akande and Oyinlola administrations and decentralized its operations, opening offices for it in the three senatorial districts of the state, PDP said “Less than 3 years after, Mr. Aregbesola is changing the structure of the agency again, having wasted millions of Naira just as we know that such development will have negative impacts on education generally.”

It added that the fingerprint capturing machines the governor is introducing had once been forced on local government staffers in the state when Aregbesola the governor which up till now has no effect of value.

The statement reads: “In 2011, a contract for the supply of the fingerprint capturing machines meant to check truancy among workers in the local government was awarded to a Lagos based company”

He continued “The machines that were supplied and mounted in secretariats of the 30 local government and Ife East Area Council, cost the state a sum of N90 million, but less that 6 months after its introduction all the machines stopped functioning.

“Now Mr. Aregbesola is planning to reintroduce the machines and buy more, hiding under the guise of using them to check truancy, does that not expose crass incompetence and a deeper surge into the abyss of indebtedness he has plunged the state into?

“We urge anti-graft agencies to look into all the issues we are raising to safe Osun from Aregbesola financial quagmire”.